*~^ 






SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL 
DIRECTOR'S 
GUIDE 

SLOAN 







Class _hV. 

Book. ,^S (p 

Copyright^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSHV 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL DIRECTOR'S 
GUIDE TO SUCCESS 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER'S GUIDE 
TO SUCCESS 

16mo, cloth, net] $0.75 






" We would like to see this work in the hands 
of every Sunday-school teacher in the country." 
— Sacred Heart Review. 



THE 

Sunday-School Director's 
Guide to Success 



BY 



Rev. PATRICK J. SLOAN 

Author of "The Sunday-School Teacher's 

Guide to Success" 



New York Cincinnati Chicago 

BENZIGER BROTHERS 

PRINTERS TO THE | PUBLISHERS OP 

HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE I BENZIGER'S MAGAZINE 

1909 



UBRARY of CONGRESS 


Two Co Dies Receiyed 


MAR 8 W9 


Copyrignt Entry 
CLASS Q^ XXc, No, 



^J 



5^ 



mibfl ©bstat. 



Remy Lafort, 

Censor Librorum. 



ITmprimatur. 



►J<JOHN M. FARLEY, 

Archbishop of New York. 



New York, December 7, 1908. 



Copyright, 1909, by Benziger Brothers. 



PEEFACE 

Scarcely two years have passed since 
our Holy Father Pius X gave to the Cath- 
olic world his encyclical on ' ' The Teaching 
of Christian Doctrine." That a special 
blessing of God has accompanied this let- 
ter is manifest from the almost miraculous 
results, countless and eternal, which it is 
everywhere effecting. 

To us in America, it came as a message 
most opportune. Here the growth of 
Catholicity is rapid and vigorous. New 
parishes are being formed in every diocese. 
Those already established are becoming 
larger and better organized. Millions of 
people are seeking the kingdom of Heaven, 
and eagerly asking, "What must we do to 
be saved V 9 These persons must be in- 
structed in the doctrines of Christ thor- 
oughly and at once. Otherwise, they will 
yield to the influence of an unbelieving 
world, wander away into paths of sin, and 
be lost to the Church and God. Hence 
this work, entrusted by Christ Himself to 
those having charge of souls, is one of fun- 
v 



vi Preface 

damental and supreme importance. "The 
first and chief duty of pastors," declared 
the holy Council of Trent, "is to teach the 
faithful in Christian doctrine.' ' "No duty 
weightier than this," adds our Holy 
Father in his recent encyclical, "is ap- 
pointed unto priests, and none binds under 
stricter obligation." If the people would 
be saved, and especially the children, they 
must be instructed in Christian doctrine. 
This is certain. 

Hence no nobler or more Christlike 
endeavor is possible to a priest entrusted 
with the care of souls than that of laboring 
to organize and maintain in his parish an 
efficient school of Christian doctrine, which 
is fully equipped with all needed helps and 
conveniences, which is regularly and 
punctually attended by all the children, 
which has lessons well learned and mem- 
bers favorably disposed, which is properly 
classified and adequately supplied with 
competent teachers, and in which there is 
exerted an activity so systematically con- 
trolled and directed that the greatest pos- 
sible good is being accomplished in the 
work of salvation. 

No matter how devoutly zealous a priest 
may be, however, or how strenuously he 



Preface vii 

may labor to save the children, his efforts 
will result in lamentable failure unless he 
knows clearly and definitely both what is to 
be accomplished and how this may best be 
done. None more thoroughly than pas- 
tors who are earnestly striving to perform 
as best they can the work of the Master, 
realize the truth of this fact; and hence 
none more gladly than they welcome any 
suggestions or helps which make their 
duties to the Sunday-school more evident 
and the fulfilment of the same more certain 
and complete. 

To afford some assistance to those who 
are laboring in the work of teaching Chris- 
tian doctrine, is the sole purpose of this 
volume. The principles and methods of 
catechetical instruction found therein have 
been carefully and deliberately gleaned 
from the various sources. The best of 
experience has pronounced them to be 
most practical and efficacious. They are 
expressed in a form as clear, direct, con- 
cise, and yet comprehensive as was found 
possible, and are submitted, without embel- 
lishment or circumlocution, to the serious 
and prayerful consideration of pastors and 
Sunday-school directors. These methods 
may be old, but they are of vital and su- 



viii Preface 

preme importance, and adapted by wise 
usage to new needs and conditions. They 
have brought great success to many; if 
rightly followed, under like circumstances 
they will bring a similar success to all, by 
pointing out and lighting up the way along 
which the little ones of Christ may be led 
nearer unto His sacred Heart and more 
surely and safely into heaven. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Preface v 

CHAPTER I 

Necessity and Purpose of Religious 
Instruction 

Its Necessity Has Always Been Recog- 
nized 1 

The True Purpose of the Sunday-School 3 

The Sunday-School Should Educate Each 
Child in its Religion 4 

It Should Develop Each Child into a 
Practical Church Member 4 

For Accomplishing this Work the Best 
and Most Effective Methods Should be 
Employed 6 

Improved Methods are Especially to be 
Desired at the Present Time 6 

Requirements Essentially Necessary for 
the Successful Accomplishment of the 
Sunday-School's Purpose 7 

1. A Trained Superintendent Must 

be Had 7 

2. Trained Teachers are Needed. ... 8 

3. Suitable Helps Should be Supplied 9 

4. The Sunday-School Should be 

Properly Graded and Conducted 10 
ix 



: Contents 

CHAPTER II 

The Relation op the Sunday-School to 
the Church 

The Sunday-School is a Department of 
the Church 13 

It Should be Supported by the Church. . 13 

CHAPTER III 

The Religious Life of the Sunday-School 
The Spiritual in the Sunday-School Must 

Animate the Material 17 

A Thoroughly Religious Purpose Should 

Dominate the Entire Sunday-School. . 18 

CHAPTER IV 
A Graded System of Instruction Needed 

in the Sunday- School 
A Knowledge of Christian Doctrine Must 

be Imparted 21 

A Systematic Course of Catechetical 

Study is Necessary 23 

This Course of Study Must be Graded. . . 24 

CHAPTER V 

The Graded System Outlined 

The System Most Approved 26 

The First Grade. 
The Second Grade. 
The Third Grade. 
The Fourth Grade. 
The Fifth Grade. 
The Sixth Grade. 



Contents xi 

The Seventh Grade. 
The Eighth Grade. 
A Unified System Should be Followed in 

Organizing the Sunday-School 35 

Teachers' Meetings Would Increase both 

Unity and Efficiency 35 

CHAPTER VI 

The Sunday-School Director's Duties 
He Superintends the Sunday-School.... 37 

He Must Bring the Pupils Together 37 

He Must Organize the Sunday-School. . . 38 
He Must Select and Appoint Teachers . . 38 
He Must Direct the "Work of the Sunday- 
School Session 38 

He Must Open and Close the Sunday- 
School 39 

He Must Foster and Maintain therein a 
Religious Spirit 39 

CHAPTER VII 

The Director's Necessary Qualifications 

No Director is Absolutely Perfect 41 

Certain Qualifications Are Required in a 
Director 41 

1. He Should be Living a Consistent 

Life. 

2. He Should be a Person of Prac- 

tical, Sincere Piety. 

3. He Must Have a Familiar Knowl- 

edge of Christian Doctrine. 

4. He Should Possess Administrative 

Ability. 

5. He Must be Strong- Willed but not 

Self-Willed. 



xii Contents 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Director Preserving Order 

Punctuality is of Prime Importance 46 

The Sunday-School Must be Brought to 

Order 47 

A Spirit of Reverence Must Prevail 48 

Quiet Must be Maintained During the 

Session 48 

Profitless Interruptions Must be Avoided 50 
Unruly Boys and Girls Require Special 

Treatment 51 

The Director Must Maintain Self-Govern- 

ment 53 

CHAPTER IX 
The Director Teaching 
He Is Responsible for the Teaching of All 54 

He Must Teach by His Life 55 

He is the Presiding Officer at the Teach- 
ers' Meetings 55 

CHAPTER X 

The Director Supplying and Appointing 

Teachers 
The Supplying of Teachers is an Impor- 
tant Duty 57 

How May These Teachers be Supplied ? . . 57 

1. By Exhortation Made from the 

Pulpit. 

2. By Personal Requests to Teach 

Coming from the Director. 

3. By Having a Corps of Substitute 

Teachers. 



Contents xiii 

4. By Training the Older Pupils in 

the Art of Teaching. 

5. By Maintaining a Normal Class. 

6. By Having an Installation of 

Teachers. 
The Director Should Choose His Teachers 

Wisely 60 

Each- Teacher Should be Adapted to His 

Class 60 

Day-School Teachers Are Most Desirable 61 
The Teachers Should be Specialists 62 

CHAPTER XI 

The Relation* and Duties of the Pastor 

to the Sunday-School 

He Is Its Chief Officer 63 

He Should Promote in Every Way Pos- 
sible the Work of the Sunday-School. . 64 

1. He Should Keep the Parish Thor- 

oughly Interested in This. 

2. He Should Be the Friend and Ad- 

viser of Every Teacher. 

3. He Should Confer with the Di- 

rector if He Has Placed One in 
Charge. 

4. Even when not Director, He 

Should Assist in the Sunday- 
School. 

CHAPTER XII 

The Duties of Parents to the Sunday- 
School 
Parents Must Co-Operate with the Sun- 
day-School 68 



xiv Contents 

They Must See that Their Children At- 
tend Regularly and Punctually 68 

They Must See that Their Children Learn 
Thoroughly the Lesson Assigned 69 

They Should Promote Sunday-School Dis- 
cipline 70 

They Should Avoid Criticising the Sun- 
day-School Adversely 70 

CHAPTER XIII 

The Subordinate Officers of the Sunday- 
School 

How Many Officers Are Required ? 72 

Duties of the Assistant Director 72 

Duties of the Secretary 73 

Duties of the Treasurer 74 

Duties of the Librarian 74 

Who Should be Selected to Fill These 

Offices 74 

Except in Small Sunday-Schools, Subordi- 
nate Officers Are a Necessity 75 

CHAPTER XIV 
The Sunday-School and Church Societies 
Church Societies Are a Great Aid to Sun- 
day-School Work 76 

CHAPTER XV 

The Sunday-School Educating Church 

Workers 
The Children Should be Taught to Sup- 
port the Church 79 



Contents xv 

CHAPTER XVI 

Sunday-School Entertainments 

Occasional Entertainments Are Useful. . 81 
Too Much Entertainment in the Sunday- 
School is Dangerous 81 

Educational Entertainments Are Becom- 
ing Ever More Popular 82 

CHAPTER XVII 

The Sunday-School and Temperance 
Work 

Temperance Taught in Sunday-School. . 84 
The Sunday-School Should Represent 

Temperance as a Moral Duty 84 

It Must Warn its Pupils Against the Evil 

of Intemperance 85 

It Must Safeguard Against this Evil 87 

It Must be Overcome by Prevention 88 

How Should the Sunday-School Teach 

Temperance ? 89 

The Pledge is a Power for Good 90 

Right Views on Temperance Should be 

Taught in the Sunday-School 91 

CHAPTER XVIII 

The Best Time for Sunday- School 

This Depends Largely on Circumstances 92 
In Theory, the Morning is Preferable ... 92 
Practically, the Afternoon is More Favor- 
able 93 

Different Classes at Different Hours 94 



xvi Contents 

CHAPTER XIX 
The Kindergarten Department 

The Kindergarten is Desirable and Neces- 
sary 96 

How Many Classes Should There be in 

the Kindergarten ? 97 

Large Classes Are Preferable 97 

1. Skilled Kindergarten Teachers Are 

Rare. 

2. The Little Ones Must be Kept 

Moving. 

3. Each Room Should be Fully 

Equipped with Lesson Helps. 

CHAPTER XX 
The Primary Department 
In This Department the Classes Should 

be Small 99 

Each Pupil Should be Rightly Classified 100 
The Classes Should be Separated One 

from Another 100 

The Pupils Must be Induced to Attend 

Regularly 100 

They Must be Made to Learn Well the 

Lesson Assigned 101 

CHAPTER XXI 
How to Keep the Older Boys in Sunday- 
School 
Our Sunday-School is not Succeeding in 

This 102 

The Result of this Failure is Fatal and 

Eternal 102 

It is Difficult to Secure the Return of Boys 
Who Have Left the Sunday-School. ... 105 



Contents xvii 

Most of These Older Boys Can be Induced 
to Return 105 

How Are the Older Boys to be Kept in 
the Sunday-School? 106 

1. Thoroughly Competent Teachers 

Must be Secured for Them. 

2. Due Respect Must be Shown to 

Them. 

3. They Should be Made Useful. 

4. They Should Receive Instruction 

of Real Value. 

5. Their Questions Should be Heard 

and Answered. 

6. The Instruction Given Them 

Should be Practical. 

7. They Must be Made to Realize that 

the Sunday-School is not Solely 
for Little Children. 
Parents Must be Made to See that These 
Older Boys Attend 112 

CHAPTER XXII 

Sunday-School Teachers ' Meetings 
Many Sunday-School Teachers Are In- 
competent 113 

For Supplying Teachers, Teachers ' Meet- 
ings are Almost a Necessity 115 

1. They Bring the Teachers into So- 

cial Unity. 

2. They Foster and Increase Devo- 

tion. 

3. At them, Sunday-School Business 

Can be Transacted. 

4. They Afford an Opportunity for 

Preparing Class Matter. 



xviii Contents 

Who Should Preside at These Meetings? 118 
The Chief Purpose of These Meetings is 

Method Study 119 

How Can the Success of These Meetings 

be Furthered 120 

CHAPTER XXIII 

The Duties of the Home to the Sunday- 
School 
The Home and the Sunday-School Must 

Labor as One 123 

Each Has its Own "Work to Perform 124 

What Is to be Done by Each? 124 

In Regard to Prayer 124 

In Regard to Sunday-School Lessons .... 125 

In Regard to the Practice of Religion . . . 125 

In Regard to Christian Morality 126 

In Regard to Companionship 126 

In Regard to Habits 126 

No Definite Line of Demarcation Can be 
Drawn between the Duties of the Par- 
ents and the Sunday-School 127 

CHAPTER XXIV 

The Sunday-School Library 
The Advantages Derived from a Sunday- 
School Library Are Many 129 

1. It Acts as an Incentive and Re- 

ward for Sunday-School Attend- 
ance. 

2. It Keeps Alive in the Homes an 

Active Interest in the Sunday- 
School. 

3. It Carries the Influence of the 

Sunday-School into the Home. 



Contents xix 

The Sunday-School Library is a Necessity 131 

It Should be Catholic 132 

The Library Books Should be Well 

Selected 134 

How Are These Books to be Secured ? . . . 134 
Who Should be Appointed Librarian ? . . . 135 
The Librarian Has Many Duties 136 

1. He Should Value His Work. 

2. He Should Make the Library as 

Useful as Possible. 

3. He Must Keep All in Order and 

on Record. 
A Reference Library for Teachers is Often 
Useful 137 

CHAPTER XXV 
Sunday- School Supplies 

Many Supplies Are Needed 138 

The Blackboard is an Indispensable Help 138 
Sunday-School Papers Are a Necessity. . 139 

Maps Are Very Useful 140 

Religious Pictures Are Helpful 141 

A Mimeograph or Printing Press May 

Sometimes be Used 142 

The Stereopticon Has Been Used with 

Advantage 142 

A Museum is Sometimes Had 143 

CHAPTER XXVI 

Sunday-School Rewards 

Rewards of Merit Are Desirable 144 

The Prevailing Method of Reward is Two- 
fold 144 

For What Should Rewards be Given?. . . 145 



xx Contents 

Regularity and Promptness of Attend- 
ance 145 

Well-Learned Lessons 146 

Bringing New Pupils into the Sunday- 
School 146 

Which Gifts and Honors Are Most Suit- 
able for Rewards ? 147 

CHAPTER XXVII 

Sunday-School Hall Architecture 
It Is of Various Styles and Generally De- 
fective 150 

The Sunday-School Classes Should be To- 
gether and yet Separated 151 

The Sunday-School Rooms Should be 
Suitably Furnished 152 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

Branch Sunday-Schools 
Branch Sunday-Schools Are Desirable. . 153 
Home Department Schools are Sometimes 

Necessary 153 

Branch Schools Sometimes Necessary .... 154 
Children Living Far from the Church 
May Require Special Classes Instructed 

at Special Times 156 

Each Pastor Must Arrange These 157 

CHAPTER XXIX 

The Catholic Sunday-School and Non- 
Catholic Children 
Non-Catholic Children Ought to Attend 

the Catholic Sunday-School 159 

How Should We Regard Non-Catholics?. 160 



Contents xxi 

How Are We to Deal with Them? 161 

Great Prudence Should Direct Our Ef- 
forts 162 

The Children of All Denominations 
Should be Prudently Encouraged to 
Attend the Catholic Sunday-School . . . 163 



CHAPTER XXX 

The Sunday-School Endeavoring to Edu- 
cate Catholics 

To be Catholic is to Live as Another 
Christ 167 

The Children Must be Made Catholic. . . 167 

They Must be Made to Believe the Church 
as Christ's Infallible Teacher 168 

They Must be Taught to Obey the Church 
as Christ 's Duly Authorized Represent- 
ative 169 

They Can Not do This Without the Help 
of Grace 170 

They Must be Actuated to Live Ever Pre- 
pared for Death 171 

CHAPTER XXXI 

Teaching the Children to Pray 

Prayer is Necessary for Salvation 173 

The Children Must be Taught How to 

Pray 173 

They Should be Taught When to Pray. . 175 
What Prayers Should the Children Say? 176 
From Whom Should They Learn to Pray ? 178 
What Must the Sunday-School Do in This 

Work? 179 



xxii Contents 

CHAPTER XXXII 
Educating the Children to Assist Prop- 
erly at Mass 
The Children Must Enow Clearly What 

the Mass Is 180 

Their Attendance at Mass on Sundays and 
Holydays of Obligation Must be Se- 
cured 181 

Their Attendance at Mass Should be 

Regular 181 

Their Attendance at Mass Should be 

Punctual 185 

They Must be Educated to Hear Mass De- 
voutly 186 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

Educating the Children to Make 
Worthy Confessions 

The Children Must Understand How they 
Offend God by Sin 193 

They Should Realize the Evil and Pun- 
ishment of Sin 194 

They Must Know How God's Forgiveness 
of Sin Is to be Secured 195 

They Must be Prepared for Confession. . 196 

They Should be Educated to go to Con- 
fession Regularly 197 

They Should be Educated to Make Each 
Confession Well 198 

The Duty of the Sunday-School in Re- 
gard to Confession 198 



Contents xxiii 

CHAPTER XXXIV 

Educating the Children to Receive Holy 
Communion 

They Must be Familiar with the Doc- 
trines of the Holy Eucharist 200 

They Must be Inflamed with Love for the 
Blessed Sacrament 201 

They Should Value Rightly the Grace 
Received in Holy Communion 202 

They Must Know what Preparation is Re- 
quired for a Worthy Communion 203 

They Must be Prepared for Receiving 
Holy Communion Well , 204 

They Should be Educated to Communi- 
cate Frequently 205 

This Should be the Sunday-School's Chief 
Endeavor 206 



CHAPTER XXXV 

Educating the Children to Follow their 
Vocation 

God Gives to Each Person a Special Vo- 
cation 210 

Different States of Life are Designed for 
Different Persons 212 

1. Virginity. 

2. Matrimony, 

3. The Religious State. 

The Life of a Religious is One of Supreme 
Joy and Blessing 216 



xxiv Contents 

A Vocation to the Religious Life Should 
not be Neglected 219 

Parents Should Foster the Religious Vo- 
cations of Their Children 220 

Pastors Should Encourage Religious Vo- 
cations 221 

4. The Priesthood. 

CHAPTER XXXVI 
Fostering Vocations to the Priesthood 
The Work of Salvation is the Work of 

Christ 223 

The Priesthood Was Instituted by Christ 

Himself 223 

To Enter the Priesthood a Special Voca- 
tion is Necessary 224 

No One Should Enter the Priesthood 

Without such a Vocation 225 

A Vocation to the Priesthood May be Lost 227 
The Reality of This Vocation Must be De- 
termined 227 

The Three Marks of a True Vocation. ... 228 

1. The Necessary Ability. 

2. A Sincere Desire. 

3. A Pure Intention. 

Vocations to the Priesthood Should be 
Discovered and Fostered 234 

1. The Priest Should Decide Con- 

cerning the Reality of the Voca- 
tion. 

2. He Should Know the True Marks 

of a Divine Vocation. 

3. He Must Find Out and Assist 

Those Called to the Priesthood. 



Contents xxv 

4. He Must Protect Them from the 

Influence of Evil. 

5. He Should Direct Their Educa- 

tion. 

6. The Parents Should Co-operate 

with the Priest in This Work. 

7. The Financial Means Needed 

Should be Supplied. 

8. The Priest Should Attract Others 

to the Priesthood by His Life. 

9. The Priest Should Pray for Voca- 

tions. 
The Fostering of Vocations Brings Count- 
less Blessings 243 

APPENDIX 
Encyclical of Pius X on the Teaching 
of Christian Doctrine 249 



CHAPTER I 

NECESSITY AND PUKPOSE OF RELIGIOUS 
INSTRUCTION 

Its Necessity Has Always Been Recog- 
nized, — Religious instruction has been con- 
sidered from the very beginning as vitally 
essential to the well-being of God's people. 
God spoke to our First Parents in the Gar- 
den of Paradise, instructed them in His 
holy truth, and revealed unto them His di- 
vine will. Our First Parents repeated to 
their children what they had learned from 
their Creator. The patriarchs and the 
prophets taught and explained to the 
people the divinely revealed truth. The 
Doctors of the law did the same. Even in 
the days of Christ, religious instruction 
was given in the home, in the school, and in 
the synagogue. On the afternoon of the 
Sabbath, the Jewish synagogue became a 
"Beth-ha-midrash," a house of search, or 
study. In some ways this resembled our 
present Sunday-school. 

Christ while still a boy of twelve years 
1 



2 Necessity and Purpose 

was found by His blessed Mother and fos- 
ter-father in the Temple, asking and an- 
swering questions about the revealed truth 
and the divinely given law. At the age of 
thirty, when He began His public mission 
of teaching and saving the world, He not 
only preached formal sermons to the multi- 
tude, but He also taught His truth cate- 
chetically; that is, He explained this in 
words, figures, and parables, so simple and 
yet so sublime that even the lowly shep- 
herds, as they listened to His discourse, 
beheld new worlds of truth, beautifully pic- 
tured. The early Christian Church mod- 
eled its method of religious instruction 
largely on that of Christ, the Teacher of 
Man. This Saviour and God of all sent 
His apostles forth to " teach all nations' ' 
whatsoever He had commanded them. 
Therefore it has always been the bounden 
duty of the Church to teach through duly 
ordained bishops, priests, and ministers 
this truth to all people ; and, likewise, it has 
ever been the God-imposed obligation of 
the people to receive this truth as from on 
high, to learn its import, and to obey its 
commands. This mission the Church has 
never ceased to perform. The doctrines 
taught have always been essentially the 



Of Religious Instruction 3 

same. The methods employed for teach- 
ing this doctrinal truth, however, have 
been varied from time to time, and in many 
ways have been improved during the ages. 

The True Purpose of the Sunday-School 
is Teaching and not Preaching. — In the 
pulpit the truths of Christianity are pro- 
claimed in a formal and oratorical manner. 
This is termed preaching. In the Sunday- 
school hall, they are set forth rather in 
a conversational way. They are so ex- 
plained and illustrated by question and an- 
swer, figure, parable, and story, that the 
merest child can grasp the essential mean- 
ing, and by a process of mental assimila- 
tion make it a part of life's existence. 
This is teaching. It is developing in the 
mind of the child a picture, clear and com- 
prehensive, of truth, natural and revealed, 
in its proper coloring and perspective, and 
then inducing the child to model into con- 
formity with this his life and existence. 

The preacher proclaims a doctrine in a 
general and comprehensive manner; while 
the teacher first ascertains with which part 
of the truth the child is already familiar, 
and then tactfully leads him on to the 
knowledge of the remainder which is as yet 
unknown. The preacher speaks to the con- 



4 Necessity and Purpose 

gregation; the teacher to the individual. 
The preacher strives to influence, guide, 
and ennoble public sentiment, opinion, and 
activity; the teacher to mold and Chris- 
tianize personal character. As a sculptor, 
he goes from soul to soul, remedying de- 
fects, chiseling away deformities, and 
beautifying all. 

The Sunday-School Should Educate 
Each Child in His Religion. — Its first duty, 
however, is to care for those children whose 
parents are regular Church members. 
This is only just. Those families which 
attend, assist, and support a church, have 
the first right to share in its blessing and 
service. In fact, generally speaking, they 
are the ones which will derive the greatest 
and most lasting benefit therefrom. No 
matter how careless some parents of a 
parish may be, however, their children 
should not be abandoned or neglected. All 
possible should be done for each. The in- 
dividual child must be developed into a 
practical Church member with a perma- 
nently formed Christian character. 

The Sunday-School Should Develop 
Each Child into a Practical Church Mem- 
ber. — The children of to-day will form the 



Of Religious Instruction 5 

congregations of the near future. As the 
children are now, the parishioners will be 
then. Those who are now permitted to 
leave the Sunday-school deficient in Chris- 
tian knowledge and religious training will 
prove of little assistance or credit to the 
future Church. Their influence will tend 
to demoralize and contaminate all with 
whom they come in contact ; and, as to their 
own salvation, it will be exposed to the 
greatest peril. On the other hand, chil- 
dren who are thoroughly educated in Chris- 
tian doctrine and rightly trained in Cath- 
olic practice will appreciate their holy re- 
ligion and learn to love their Church more 
and more as their days of life pass by. 
They will generously respond to its every 
demand of needed sacrifice, be loyal to its 
interest, zealous in laboring to extend its 
influence, and assiduous in striving by all 
just means to increase its honor and glory. 
Their influence will be uplifting and 
Christianizing, and their salvation will be 
practically assured. For a time they may 
be induced to wander from the path of 
virtue, but experience generally shows that 
sooner or later the grace of God and a 
rightly-formed conscience will impel them 



6 Necessity and Purpose 

to return. The work of educating each 
child into a practical Church member is 
therefore one of vital importance. 

For Accomplishing This Work the Best 
and Most Effective Methods Should be 
Employed. — Since no work is more sacred, 
none more vitally important and lasting in 
its results than that of saving human souls 
from unending misery and bringing them 
safely into the realms of joy and glory 
eternal, it evidently follows, that the means 
and methods employed for the accomplish- 
ment of this work should be such as will 
effect the salvation of the greatest number. 
This has ever been the unwavering convic- 
tion of Christ's holy Church. 

Improved Methods Are Especially to be 
Desired at the Present Time. — Modern 
methods of secular education are vastly 
different from those employed fifty or even 
twenty-five years ago. They are in many 
ways supremely superior. The great ma- 
jority of our Sunday-school children are 
attending the day-schools, public or pa- 
rochial, and are more or less familiar with 
this fact. In many Sunday-schools, how- 
ever, scholarly and systematic methods are 
to a great extent lacking. The young peo- 
ple who attend these, naturally begin at 



Of Religious Instruction 7 

once to perceive a manifest deficiency and 
a deplorable ineffectiveness, and to realize 
that they are not acquiring in the Sunday- 
school the knowledge of their religion and 
the spiritual advantages which they should. 
As a result, they soon lose interest in the 
recitation, become dissatisfied, and with- 
draw. This evil can be remedied, at least 
to a great extent, by maintaining in our 
Sunday-schools both the scholarly method 
and the thorough efficiency which are 
found in the day-schools. 

Requirements Essentially Necessary for 
Making the Sunday-School a Success. — 
For bringing the Sunday-school up to 
the high standard of efficiency desired, cer- 
tain requirements are indispensable. A 
trained superintendent must be had, com- 
petent teachers secured, suitable helps sup- 
plied, and a proper system of grading 
maintained. 

1. A trained superintendent must be 
had. This is generally to be found in the 
person of the pastor or his assistant. 
Whenever it is at all possible, the parish 
priest ought always to be the superintend- 
ent of his own Sunday-school. Even the 
priest, however, can not successfully or- 
ganize and efficiently conduct a Sunday- 



8 Necessity and Purpose 

school without much preparatory study 
and labor. A practical preparation for 
this work should begin, in fact, during the 
seminary course, and should be continued 
day after day from the time of ordination 
until that of death. This is the priest's 
first duty in regard to the Sunday-school, 
but not his only one. For so great and so 
varied is the work of the ordinary Sunday- 
school, that it requires the united labor of 
several persons to effect its successful ac- 
complishment. 

2. Trained teachers are needed. The 
teachers assisting in the Sunday-school 
should compare favorably with those of the 
day-school. Too often these teachers are 
found to be almost entirely untrained and 
to possess little or no skill for their work. 
Their ideas of Christian doctrine are not 
clear-cut, practical, and comprehensive, but 
crude and indefinite. As to the blessings 
which Christianity offers and the obliga- 
tions which it imposes, they are to a great 
extent ignorant. They even neglect to 
study and master the lesson to be taught, 
and hence are incapable of impressing this 
on the minds of their pupils. They know 
almost nothing of the principles and meth- 
ods on which successful teaching is based. 



Of Religious Instruction 9 

They lack natural ability and aptitude for 
the work. In a word, they are in many 
cases entrusted with the charge of a class 
solely because competent and desirable 
teachers can not be secured. To remedy 
this evil, a special effort must be made to 
train and qualify a suitable teaching force 
for the Sunday-school. The vital im- 
portance of this can scarcely be exagger- 
ated. It is becoming ever more manifest, 
and as the years pass by more stress is be- 
ing laid on it by zealous and devoted pas- 
tors. In many parishes, teachers' classes 
have been formed, teachers' meetings 
maintained, and teachers' institutes held 
for the purpose of supplying the required 
number of competent teachers. It would 
be well and of great advantage if the 
weekly Sunday-school lessons could be so 
graded that all the children could be taught 
the same topic on the same Sunday. Then 
the pastor could hold a weekly meeting of 
his teachers, and together they could dis- 
cuss the lesson assigned and the most suc- 
cessful methods of presenting this to the 
pupils, and of impressing it on their minds 
and hearts. 

3. Suitable helps should be supplied. 
It is practically impossible to conduct a 



10 Necessity and Purpose 

successful Sunday-school without conven- 
ient rooms, standard text-books, black- 
boards, maps, and so forth. These, in as 
far as it is possible, should be supplied 
promptly and adequately. 

4. The Sunday-school should be prop- 
erly graded. The success of our day- 
schools is greatly increased by their sys- 
tem of grading and there is no doubt that a 
similar system would immeasurably in- 
crease our Sunday-school's efficiency for 
good. A complete system of grading may 
not be feasible in those small country par- 
ishes where there are at most only twenty- 
five or thirty children; but in the larger 
towns and cities it is possible and most de- 
sirable. For a crying fault, due at least in 
part to the present system, is that our boys 
and girls depart from the Sunday-school 
hall just at the age when they become able 
to realize the significance and appreciate 
the value of religious instruction. In fact, 
they leave the Sunday-school even at the 
very beginning of life's most critical 
period, at the very time when they most 
need its sustaining and Christianizing 
influence to keep them from being al- 
lured into sin and vice. Our Sunday- 
school should do all in its power to retain 



Of Religious Instruction 11 

among its members and under its instruc- 
tion not only the little children, but also 
the youth, in fact, the young men and the 
young women of the parish. To effect 
this, the Sunday-school itself must be un- 
usually attractive, the course of study must 
be so arranged that a broader and deeper 
view of Christianity is presented to the pu- 
pils during their every successive year, 
and the recitations must be so conducted 
as to make the members of the Sunday- 
school realize and appreciate the fact, that 
by their continued attendance they are ac- 
quiring a better and more helpful knowl- 
edge of their religion. Of late, we are 
glad to say, much time and thought has 
been devoted to the arrangement of a well- 
defined course of Sunday-school study, 
such as will impart to those who pursue it 
a practical and thorough knowledge of 
Christian doctrine. Even greater effort 
in this must be had in order to bring the 
methods employed in our Sunday-schools 
up to the high standard which modern edu- 
cation requires. A more thorough system 
of grading than that now found in many of 
our Sunday-schools is not only a thing to 
be desired, but a necessity, and there is no 
adequate reason why it should not be had. 



12 Religious Instruction Necessary 

For the fundamental idea of proper grad- 
ing is not so complex as at first thought it 
may seem. It is in fact remarkably sim- 
ple, and can be carried out to some extent 
in the smaller Sunday-schools as well as in 
the larger ones. In all things, however, 
this system of grading should be so ar- 
ranged and modified as to be adapted to 
the individual Sunday-school, class, and 
pupil. In the Sunday-school, nothing 
should be tolerated which is detrimental or 
useless, or which from its very nature 
does not most efficiently concur to the ac- 
complishment of one grand result, the de- 
velopment of practical Church members, 
possessed of strong Catholic characters. 



CHAPTER II 

THE RELATION OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TO 
THE CHURCH 

The Sunday-School is a Department of 
the Church. — The Sunday-school should 
always be recognized as a most important 
and vitally essential part of the Church. 
It is the school wherein the pastor, assisted 
by a corps of competent teachers, labors 
week after week with the children of his 
parish, striving by all available means to 
train and develop them into practical Cath- 
olics. In as far as he succeeds in this, he 
increases the membership of the Church, 
militant and triumphant. This is truly 
the work of Christ carried on by His dis- 
ciples. It can not be accomplished, how- 
ever, without expense. 

The Sunday-School Should be Supported 
by the Church. — The financial support re- 
quired for the maintenance of the Sunday- 
school should be supplied judiciously, yet 
freely, by the Church. Moreover, as soon 
as the pastor is convinced that class-rooms, 
13 



14 The Relation of the 

blackboards, maps, papers, and other helps 
are needed for bringing his Sunday-school 
up to the high standard of efficiency de- 
sired, he should, in as far as the means at 
hand will permit, supply these without hes- 
itation. This will necessitate an expendi- 
ture of money. Suppose it does? The 
people are willing and glad to furnish 
money which they see well expended in the 
defraying of needed Church expense; and 
no person of common sense can visit one 
of those Sunday-schools wherein he beholds 
the children crowded together into one con- 
fused, restless, noisy mass of youthful hu- 
manity without realizing the utter impos- 
sibility of priest or teacher imparting amid 
such surroundings the necessary religious 
instruction or training. To conduct a suc- 
cessful recitation amid such environment 
is in fact a moral impossibility. The reli- 
gious instruction of such children is being 
neglected ; and often this is permitted sim- 
ply because those in charge are so accus- 
tomed to this slovenly way of conducting 
Sunday-school that they have grown indif- 
ferent or at least blind to its flagrant de- 
fects, or else because, for pecuniary 
reasons, they are unwilling to incur what 



Sunday -School to the Church 15 

is wrongly deemed an unnecessary ex- 
pense. "These Sunday-schools were good 
enough for the children of fifty years ago, 
and they are good enough for the children 
of to-day," is sometimes said. Such a 
course of reasoning is not only illogical, 
but false and criminal. An efficient Sun- 
day-school can not be maintained without 
suitable rooms and apparatus, and it is 
most unwise for any parish to be wilfully 
delinquent in supplying these. For in as 
far as the Sunday-school fails in the ac- 
complishment of its sacred mission, the 
children stroll away from the Church into 
paths of sin and vice, and even the parents 
become similarly negligent in their relig- 
ious devotion and practice. Into the at- 
tractive and successful Sunday-school, 
however, children of all classes and of all 
denominations gather. Assisted and in- 
fluenced by its teaching and training, they 
daily come to understand more thoroughly 
the doctrines of Christianity, and, as a re- 
sult, to make more cheerfully the sacrifices 
which their Church requires and to fulfill 
more gladly the obligations which it im- 
poses. From their souls, as from living 
mirrors, the truth, the power, and the 



16 Sunday-School and Church 

beauty of Christ is reflected in the lives of 
all about them, tending to enlighten, to 
beautify, and to transform all into prac- 
tical members of the Catholic Church. 



CHAPTER III 

THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

The Spiritual in the Sunday-School Must 
Animate the Material. — That the Sunday- 
school should be properly organized and 
equipped no one will deny. More than 
this, however, is required. For although 
its organization were perfect and its equip- 
ment adequate to every need, so long as it 
would remain devoid of spiritual life it 
would be like unto a beautifully formed hu- 
man body from which the soul was absent. 
This should be well borne in mind, for it 
seems but natural in Sunday-school, as in 
other kinds of Church work, to place the 
material success above the spiritual. It is 
more easily achieved. To systematize a 
Sunday-school and to maintain intact its 
mechanical organization, is far easier than 
to spiritualize it and to hold it continually 
up to a high religious standard. Material 
success wins greater applause from the 
world. It is more manifest, more attrac- 
17 



18 The Religious Life 

tive, makes a more brilliant display, and 
appeals more to our love of modern busi- 
ness methods. Moreover, the world is 
ever wielding over things spiritual a strong 
and subtile force of gravity which attracts 
to earth all that tends to rise heavenward. 
This power affects in no small measure our 
every thought and desire. Even in Sun- 
day-school work, instead of spiritual re- 
sults, as manifested in the conversion of 
souls, a fuller comprehension of divine 
truth, and a more ardently practical devo- 
tion to God, there is a strong inclination 
tempting us to rest content with results 
merely temporal and material, such as 
thorough organization, methodical system, 
large and prompt attendance, orderly 
discipline, music, and the like. Hence un- 
less one is enlightened and guided by the 
spiritual, he is liable to mistake show for 
success, and to be more solicitous in pro- 
moting the Sunday-school 's material ad- 
vancement than in fostering that religious 
life which animates its organized body and 
makes of it an active power for good. 

A Thoroughly Religious Purpose Must 
Dominate the Entire Sunday-School. — - 
The aim and purpose of the Sunday-school 
should be to bring the children to a true 



Of the Sunday-School 19 

knowledge of God and His creation, and so 
to educate them that at all times they will 
find their pleasure in doing His holy will. 
The child who is rightly instructed in the 
truths of his holy religion will behold in 
part with the eyes of faith the selfsame 
things which the guardian angels behold 
with eyes angelic, and even as the angels 
desire to do God's will and thus to live in 
love and union with Him, so in a lesser 
measure will the child. To effect this, is 
the Sunday-school's grandest, holiest mis- 
sion. The text-book used is generally the 
catechism of Christian doctrine. Some 
Sunday-schools succeed in having the cat- 
echism memorized word for word, but at 
the same time fail to teach religion. This 
is a deplorable, even a criminal fault. For 
children should study the catechism not 
merely to memorize verbally its several 
answers, but primarily to learn therefrom 
how to live aright with God and man. The 
whole material element and organization 
of the Sunday-school should be directed to 
the accomplishment of this purpose. To 
what extent is the Sunday-school making 
human life, temporal and eternal, truer 
and happier? In how far is it succeeding 
in making the children more Christian, 



20 Religious Life of Sunday-School 

more like unto other Christs? These are 
the questions which determine its real suc- 
cess. Its every aim and influence, its very 
atmosphere, should be religious. The chil- 
dren should realize at every session that 
they are assembled for the most important 
business of life, and that the reward of 
their presence, study, and prayer is a state 
of sweet and happy union with God which 
will continue on through life and find its 
full consummation in eternity. 



CHAPTER IV 

A GRADED SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

A Knowledge of Christian Doctrine 
Must be Imparted. — One of the two great 
accomplishments to be sought by those in 
charge of the Sunday-school is to bring 
the members thereof to a knowledge of 
God's truth. In the days when man first 
inhabited the earth, there were countless 
facts concerning the Creator and His crea- 
tures unknown to the human family. In 
order to save us from sin and eternal mis- 
ery, God revealed in communication, vis- 
ion, and prophecy many things about our 
life here on earth, but especially about our 
eternal existence after death. Christ, 
the Son of God, became man to give us a 
clearer knowledge of this truth. Not only 
did He reveal and explain it more fully to 
the apostles, but by His divine power He 
preserved and ever will preserve the 
Church from error so that, as a living 
teacher infallible, it teaches at all times 
21 



22 A Graded System of Instruction 

and in all places the selfsame doctrine 
which He taught in the beginning. There- 
fore, if we would know the truth revealed 
of God, we must listen to the infallible 
voice of Christ speaking to us through His 
Church. From this fact appears the su- 
preme importance of educating the chil- 
dren to reverence the Catholic Church as 
the divinely appointed guardian of all rev- 
elation, and as the only one on earth which 
teaches this infallibly. So essentially and 
fundamentally important is this doctrine 
of the Church's infallibility, that all pos- 
sible must be done by the Sunday-school 
to impress it indelibly on the mind and 
heart of every child. When this is well 
accomplished, it will be found compara- 
tively easy to lead the children on to the 
knowledge of the other doctrines of Chris- 
tianity as also to an undoubting belief in 
their truthfulness. But the Sunday-school 
that fails to effect this, fails in all. It can 
not save the children from infidelity and 
moral ruin. For a person, untaught in the 
truth of G-od, is like unto a ship unguided 
by a pilot's hand. When the storms of 
temptation arise, he is driven hither and 
thither over the sea of life, until at length 
he finds himself stranded on the hidden 



Needed in the Sunday-School 23 

shoals of sin, wrecked and ruined by the 
mad fury of tempestuous passion. A 
practical knowledge of Christian doctrine 
lights our way as a guiding star. As a 
hand divine, it guides us safely on through 
life into heaven. This knowledge is ob- 
tained in the Sunday-school principally 
through a study of the catechism. The 
catechism is a compendium of God's truth 
revealed. 

A Systematic Course of Catechetical 
Study is a Necessity. — One question now 
seriously considered and discussed is 
whether our Sunday-schools are doing all 
they should in giving the children a thor- 
ough knowledge of Christian doctrine. 
Our present and generally accepted method 
of catechetical instruction has many most 
desirable features, and unquestionably has 
accomplished immense good for humanity 
through the Church. But methods of edu- 
cation have during recent years made 
great advance. Who will deny that our 
schools are teaching in a far different 
manner and accomplishing far better re- 
sults to-day than they did twenty-five 
years ago? A similar advance is not only 
possible, but urgently needed in our Sun- 
day-school. This can be secured, at least 



24 A Graded System of Instruction 

in a large measure, by means of a sys- 
tematic and comprehensive course of in- 
struction in Christian doctrine. 

This Course of Study Must be Graded. 
— Our Sunday-schools are daily becoming 
larger, more permanent, more intelligent, 
and better organized in every way. Since 
this is true, it naturally follows that more 
emphasis than formerly is being laid on 
thoroughness in Christian education. 
Hence a more systematically graded course 
of study is demanded. The benefits de- 
rived from this are almost countless. It 
includes a study of all Christian doctrine 
and imparts a practical, comprehensive, 
and even scholarly knowledge of the same. 
It tends to retain in the Sunday-school and 
under its influence the greatest number of 
persons from childhood to youth, and 
from youth to manhood and womanhood. 
Above all it insures not a mere parrot-like 
repetition of question and answer, a memo- 
rizing by brute force of words and phrases 
to be forgotten soon after final examina- 
tion, but an intelligent study of Christian 
doctrine, such as will gradually advance 
and with every year give a wider scope of 
vision and a truer comprehension of the 
things of God. Such a course of study, 



Needed in the Sunday-School 25 

lifting the children every year to a higher 
plane of thought and life, would make the 
teaching of Christ known as never before. 
At least, it would remove from the minds 
of our young people that impression, so 
prevalent, that, when they have passed the 
examination required for Confirmation, 
they have completed their study of God's 
holy truth or else have become too old to 
continue it longer. Such a systematic, 
consecutive, thorough, and ever advancing 
study of Christian doctrine would instil 
a new interest into religious belief, infuse 
a new life into Christian practice, and 
cause the glorious divinity of the Catholic 
Church to appear before the world in 
a transfiguration of its Christ-endowed 
beauty. 



CHAPTEE V 

THE GRADED SYSTEM OUTLINED 

The System Most Approved. — A variety 
of systems for instructing the children in 
Christian doctrine and training them in its 
practice has been conceived, recommended, 
and followed by those in charge of parishes 
and Sunday-schools. The one, however, 
which seems to receive most popular ap- 
proval from priest and teacher is essen- 
tially as follows : 

The children of the parish are divided 
into eight grades in the same way as are 
those of the day-school. The reason for 
this is manifest. The expression "Sun- 
day-school endeavor' ' is often used to 
designate not only those instructions in 
Christian doctrine which are given on 
Sunday, but also those which are given 
during the week, whether in the Sunday- 
school hall or in the class-room of the 
parochial school; and since the parochial 
school is and will continue to be the place 
26 



The Graded System Outlined 27 

for educating children in Christianity, the 
system to be followed must of necessity 
be one which is adapted to its grades and 
classes. The children of each grade, how- 
ever, may be subdivided into as many 
classes as are deemed advantageous. 

A series of catechisms should be had such 
as will have a special text-book for each 
grade. More than this, each one of these 
catechisms should contain the subject- 
matter for a comprehensive, although brief 
study of Christian doctrine, so that during 
each year of their Sunday-school life the 
individual children may review or study 
in regular succession at least all the funda- 
mental truths of their religion. Even 
more, the catechisms of this series should 
be so prepared that each one of them will 
have the same number of chapters, one for 
each week of the Sunday-school year, and 
that each correspondingly successive chap- 
ter will contain an exposition more or less 
brief of the same doctrine. Then every 
teacher of the several grades can assign to 
the members of his respective class the 
same chapter as that assigned by all the 
other teachers to the pupils of all the other 
classes. Were such a series of catechisms 
rightly used, all the children of the parish 



28 The Graded System Outlined 

would be studying during each successive 
week of the Sunday-school year the same 
chapters and doctrines. Thus, during the 
first week all would have as a lesson the 
first chapter, which considers "God"; dur- 
ing the second week, the second chapter, 
and so on throughout the year. This 
would serve to bring all into systematic 
unity, and enable the priest in charge to 
assemble the Sunday-school children with 
their teachers and, after reviewing briefly 
the lesson of the previous week, to explain 
at length and to illustrate by apt compari- 
son and story the several points of the new 
lesson assigned for study. The teachers, 
after having heard this instruction, would 
be prepared for working with their respec- 
tive classes, hearing the lesson and ex- 
plaining its truth. All would be done in 
accord with the priest's direction and wish. 
The catechisms used should not be com- 
plete text-books of Christian doctrine from 
which the children are supposed to master 
the truths and practices of their religion 
without any explanation or help from 
others. They should merely contain a 
brief and simple synopsis of the instruc- 
tion to be given by the priest, such as will 
enable the child to recall to mind the cen- 



The Graded System Outlined 29 

tral truths and fundamental doctrines con- 
sidered and to fix these by diligent study 
indelibly on the memory. 

Although the number of chapters found 
in these several catechisms should be ex- 
actly the same, still the number of ques- 
tions and answers should vary with the 
grades. In the catechisms prepared for 
the first grade, only a very few of the most 
fundamental truths should be considered. 
For the work of each successively higher 
grade, more should be added. The cate- 
chism used in the sixth grade, or in the 
Confirmation class, should be complete, 
containing all the questions and answers 
found in the other catechisms, given word 
for word. 

Whenever the same question and an- 
swer are found in more than one cate- 
chism of this series, they should always be 
expressed in exactly the same words. 
When once a child has learned a certain 
answer, he should be made to feel that this 
is mastered for the entire course, and that 
to review it in a higher catechism means 
simply to gain a deeper insight into its 
truth and a keener appreciation of its 
value. To compel a child to memorize an- 
other set of words expressing this same 



30 The Graded System Outlined 

truth, would be but to confuse, rather than 
to make clearer, the knowledge he already 
has. 

Moreover, the questions and answers of 
any catechism should invariably be as 
short, and at the same time as intelligible 
and interesting as possible. In this, how- 
ever, as in all else, extremes are to be 
avoided. They should neither be so brief 
as to demand from the child a course of 
reasoning of which he is absolutely inca- 
pable, nor so long and involved as to com- 
pletely overtax his untrained memory. 
But if one must err, too great brevity is 
preferable to excessive length. 

The answers, generally speaking, should 
constitute short sentences, expressed in 
language so clear and simple, so natural 
and familiar to the child, that "word 
meanings" would be unnecessary. When 
long and difficult words do appear, as must 
happen in some few cases if the doctrine 
treated be rightly expressed, these should 
be pronounced repeatedly and explained 
with the greatest care by priest and 
teacher, until every child is familiar with 
their sound and meaning. Every word 
should be rightly pronounced; every an- 
swer thoroughly committed to memory; 



The Graded System Outlined 31 

and every idea well understood and mas- 
tered. 

Such a series of catechisms, if rightly 
used with this system of grading, would 
beyond doubt serve to bring all the en- 
deavor of the Sunday-school into com- 
pletely organized unity, and at the same 
time enable all the members thereof to ac- 
complish their best results in the work of 
salvation. 

Although the general endeavor of the 
Sunday-school is essentially the same in 
all classes, still there is a special work to 
be done in each grade. 

The first grade, or the elementary kin- 
dergarten class. The prayers to be 
learned and said by the children during 
this year, as also during each succeeding 
year, should be at least those which are 
to be found at the beginning of the cate- 
chism used. The purpose of the work 
should be to give the individual children a 
comprehensive, although of course a very 
general knowledge of Christian truth and 
practice. 

The second grade, or the advance kin- 
dergarten class. The endeavor in this 
grade should be to make the children's 
knowledge of Christianity more clearly 



32 The Graded System Outlined 

definite and their practice of it more intel- 
ligently devout. 

The third grade, or the elementary con- 
fession class. During this year the chil- 
dren should be well and rightly instructed 
concerning the committing and the forgive- 
ness of sin, and prepared for receiving the 
sacrament of Penance worthily. 

The fourth grade, or the advanced con- 
fession class. The work of the previous 
grade should be continued in this, and the 
individual children should be made to have 
right ideas of sin and virtue, of repentance, 
atonement, and forgiveness. 

The fifth grade, or the first communion 
class. During this year the children 
should be prepared for their first holy 
communion. 

The sixth grade, or the Confirmation 
class. The special work of this grade is to 
prepare the children to receive the sacra- 
ment of Confirmation with proper knowl- 
edge and disposition. 

The seventh grade, or the Christian doc- 
trine class. The text-book prepared for 
this grade should differ in one respect 
from those used during previous years. 
Its subject-matter should be given briefly 
and interestingly, not in catechetical, but 



The Graded System Outlined 33 

in paragraph form. All doctrines pre- 
viously studied should be thoroughly re- 
viewed and developed along dogmatic 
lines. Special attention should be given 
to the source of revealed truth, and to its 
representation by the Church in sign and 
ceremony. By this means a fuller knowl- 
edge of Christianity should be gained, as 
also a more thorough realization of its 
truth, a more intelligent understanding of 
the reasons for belief, and a keener appre- 
ciation of the countless blessings which the 
Catholic Church offers to its members. 

The eighth grade, or the Christian moral 
class. During this year the doctrines of 
the preceding grades should be developed 
along moral lines. The text-book used 
should give in paragraph form a brief, 
popular, and practical exposition of those 
moral duties which as Christians we owe 
to our neighbor, ourselves, and our God. 
The children should be taught to know 
clearly and definitely their moral obliga- 
tions in life, as well as the penalty for 
vice and the reward for virtue. Eight 
moral principles should be fixed firmly in 
their minds and an unwavering fidelity to 
these fostered in their hearts. 

After the children have graduated from 



34 The Graded System Outlined 

the eighth grade, they are promoted to the 
advanced department of the Sunday- 
school. Suitable classes are formed for 
them and special work assigned. In many 
parishes the first year's work of this 
higher course is to pursue a popular and 
practical study of Church history, from 
the beginning of man's existence to the 
present time, reviewing briefly, but truth- 
fully and interestingly, the story of the 
world's creation, of our First Parents and 
their fall, of the Deluge, the patriarchs, 
prophets, judges, and kings ; of Christ, His 
life and Church, of the early persecutions 
and heresies, the transmigration of na- 
tions, the fall of the Eoman Empire, the 
perils of Mohammedanism, the so-called 
Eeformation, secret societies, Socialism, 
the French Revolution, etc. This course 
imparts a clear and comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the establishment, growth, influ- 
ence, and achievement of the Church. 

After all the work thus far outlined has 
been well done, it is not found difficult to 
train the desired number of boys and girls 
into teachers efficiently qualified for teach- 
ing unto others the doctrines and practices 
of Christianity which have been taught to 
them. In every parish where the Sunday- 



The Graded System Outlined 35 

school stands in need of assistance from 
lay teachers, a training class should be 
formed to educate and qualify these for 
the work. In this class the theory and 
practice of teaching the pupils of the va- 
rious grades may be given according to 
best approved and most successful meth- 
ods. 

A Unified System Should he Followed 
in Organizing the Sunday -School. — Since 
the great duty of instructing the children 
of the parish in the truths of Christianity 
and of training them in its practice belongs 
and always will belong principally to the 
priest in charge, it is evident that no Sun- 
day-school will attain complete success in 
its efforts unless it is graded into such 
organic unity that during each week the 
priest can explain to all the children the 
same doctrines which are assigned for 
study, and train them individually to 
live in accord with the principles embodied 
and to practise the devotions recommended 
and suggested. 

Teachers' Meetings Would Increase both 
Unity and Efficiency. — It is almost prac- 
tically impossible to secure complete unity 
in Sunday-school work, unless at some 
time during the week the priest in charge 



36 The Graded System Outlined 

assembles his teachers for the purpose of 
preparing with them the lesson which is 
to be taught during the following week, 
explaining its doctrines, giving apt com- 
parisons and illustrations, and showing the 
best methods for teaching this to the chil- 
dren. 

Whatever may be said for or against 
this system, one thing is certain: in those 
parishes where it is strictly and rationally 
followed, Catholicity practical, intelligent, 
and fervent flourishes, few perverts are 
found, and many are led forth from the 
dark shades of ignorance and doubt to 
the clear light of life, spiritual and eternal, 
the Kingdom of God is present, the rule of 
Christ is supreme, and the peaceful joy of 
heaven prevails. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL DIRECTOK's DUTIES 

The Director Superintends the Sunday- 
School. — Wherever many are laboring to- 
gether to accomplish a certain work, there 
must be one to superintend and direct the 
efforts of all. A ship has its captain, a 
college its president, a church its pastor, 
and a company its general manager. So 
also a Sunday-school should have its di- 
rector. He must call the Sunday-school 
together, organize it, infuse into it energy 
and enthusiasm, and direct its efforts to 
successful achievement. He must con- 
ceive the ideal, and labor incessantly to 
make his Sunday-school ever more like 
unto this. 

He Must Bring the Pupils Together. — 
Especially at the beginning, the children 
must be informed as to the exact date on 
which the Sunday-school opens; and they 
must be made to realize that it is their 
privilege and duty to attend. Even dur- 
37 



38 Sunday-School Director's Duties 

ing the entire year, nothing should be left 
undone to secure the largest and most 
punctual attendance possible. 

He Must Organize the Sunday -School. — 
The pupils must be grouped into classes. 
This is a most important duty and much 
is accomplished by doing it properly. The 
larger the school, the more thoroughly this 
can be done. In the smaller Sunday- 
schools where there are at most only three 
or four teachers, children of different ages 
and proficiency have, as a matter of neces- 
sity, to be placed in the same class. In the 
larger schools, however, this is unneces- 
sary. Here the director can sort out his 
pupils at will and place them where they 
are likely to do their best work. 

He Must Select and Appoint Teachers. 
— After he has divided his Sunday-school 
into classes, he must select for each class 
that teacher who appears best qualified to 
conduct its recitations effectively. For 
the successful accomplishment of this duty, 
an exact knowledge of human nature, care- 
ful inquiry, and serious considerations are 
required. 

He Must Superintend the Work of the 
Sunday-School Session. — An earnest and 
well-directed activity must be maintained 



Sunday-School Director's Duties 39 

both among the teachers and the children. 
Anything which interferes with successful 
accomplishment should not, even for a mo- 
ment, be tolerated. All must be kept at 
its best achievement. 

He Should Open and Close the Sunday- 
School. — By calling the Sunday-school to 
order, saying the opening prayer, and mak- 
ing a few introductory remarks, he im- 
presses his personality on it from the be- 
ginning and gives it the desired tone. 
When the teaching is over, by his closing 
remarks he brings all scattered thoughts 
into unity, develops the chief lesson taught, 
and impresses this clearly and deeply on 
the minds of those present. One fault, 
however, the director should carefully 
avoid, and that is, becoming one of those 
"talking superintendents' ' who every now 
and then interrupt the work of the teach- 
ers by thrusting inopportune words and 
alien ideas before them, such as tend to 
distraction rather than to concentrate the 
thought and energy of the school on the 
work in hand. 

He Must Foster and Maintain a Relig- 
ious Spirit in the Sunday-School. — This 
will be effected largely by his own per- 
sonal feeling rightly manifested by word 



40 Sunday-School Director's Duties 

and example. His religion, however, 
should make him neither frivolous and 
trifling, nor morose and sullen. It should 
cause him to be serious, it is true, and yet 
ever cheerful. His very manner should 
evidence the fact that he is laboring unsel- 
fishly for the temporal and especially the 
eternal welfare of those entrusted to his 
charge, and that for each of those he will 
one day have to render an account to his 
Judge. His every word must confirm this 
impression. In this way he must maintain 
the Sunday-school as an organized body 
vivified by the soul of religion, empowered 
by the Spirit of God, and actively exerting 
a potent influence for the Christianizing of 
its members, as also for the uplifting of 
the community at large to a nobler, hap- 
pier, and more Godlike existence. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE DIRECTOR'S NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS 

No Director is Absolutely Perfect. — Ab- 
solute perfection is not found in any crea- 
ture. No man is without limitations, de- 
fects, and faults. In fact, even the 
greatest of men are in some respects pitia- 
bly weak. The director, therefore, should 
not be discouraged because he does not 
find realized in himself the ideal of excel- 
lence. For some of his duties, he may be 
partially, even almost entirely, unsuited; 
while for many others he may be supremely 
qualified. At any rate he is placed in this 
position, and he must fulfil its duties as 
best he can. If he does this, no more can 
reasonably be expected. Nevertheless, a 
high ideal of this office should be his to 
guide and sustain him, and an untiring 
ambition should urge him ever on to nobler 
effort. 

Certain Qualifications are Required in a 
41 



42 Director's Necessary Qualifications 

Director. — What kind of a person should 
he be? 

1. He should be living a consistent life. 
This is essentially fundamental. A per- 
son that is living a sinfully unworthy life, 
taints all that he does and lessens his own 
power for good. Example influences more 
than precept. Any unworthy conduct on 
the part of a religious teacher appears to 
the world as proof sufficient that he does 
not believe what he professes. " As a man 
thinketh, so he is." His deeds give 
clearer evidence than his words as to his 
real convictions. An inconsistent life even 
brings one's teaching into contempt. 
Doctrines are tested by their fruit; by the 
lives of those who profess them. An evil 
life in one who undertakes to direct relig- 
ious instruction destroys confidence both 
in the teacher and in the doctrines taught. 
Thus even the doctrines of Christianity 
sometimes appear to the unthinking mind 
as effete and evil because they are pro- 
fessed by unworthy Christians. For this 
reason it is important that a Sunday-school 
director should be one whose life is pure 
above suspicion, whose business transac- 
tions are honest beyond doubt, whose 
record is clear, whose reputation, even in 



Director's Necessary Qualifications 43 

civic affairs, is good, whose habits are ir- 
reproachable, and whose language and 
amusement are not open to adverse criti- 
cism. 

2. He should be a person of practical, 
sincere piety. It is not enough for him to 
possess negative virtue, to live without re- 
proach ; he should also have virtue of a pos- 
itive nature. He should be a devout man, 
full of reverence, of an earnest nature, 
eager for souls. He is to be the super- 
intendent, the director of an organization 
engaged in one of the noblest of works. 
He should be a spiritual man, a man of 
prayer. Within his heart should burn a 
desire to do good, to help the multitudes 
about him. Otherwise he will lack that 
enthusiasm which inspires and sustains the 
true leader, and enables him to carry on 
his work week after week in spite of toil, 
of opposition, or discouragement. 

3. He must have a familiar knowledge 
of Christian doctrine. He must have clear 
and definite concepts of that truth which 
God has revealed to His holy Church and 
which this Church continues to teach to 
the world. Otherwise he will not be able 
to plan the best possible method of instruc- 
tion for the Sunday-school. One of his 



44 Director's Necessary Qualifications 

most important duties is to teach those 
who are teaching. To do this he must 
have their respect. This he can not rightly 
claim unless he has mastered the knowl- 
edge which he strives to impart. He can 
not picture forth the truths of Christianity 
for the consideration of others, unless he 
has first formed a picture of these in his 
own mind. 

4. He should possess administrative 
ability. The Sunday-school, as found in 
our larger churches, is an organization 
complicated and elaborate. The director 
of this must be an organizer, a man of ex- 
pedients, one who can control, subordinate, 
and direct the activities of those under his 
charge. The school is to be classified and 
graded, teachers are to be appointed and 
changed, appliances of all sorts are to be 
furnished, and needs peculiar and unex- 
pected are to be supplied. This requires 
something of a genius. In fact, the per- 
son who can keep a large Sunday-school in 
steady motion, always doing its appointed 
work, always growing and thriving, and 
yet never developing friction or turning 
from its course, is nothing less than a 
genius in administration. 

5. He must be strong-willed but not 



Director's Necessary Qualifications 45 

self-willed. In this matter, it is difficult to 
keep an even poise. A leader fails if he 
is weak, and he fails none the less if he is 
headstrong. Many things must be de- 
cided. The director must have ideas of his 
own, and be able to act independently. He 
must be alert, energetic, and push on un- 
disturbed by indifference and unjust op- 
position. Otherwise he will fail. 

On the other hand, he should not be ob- 
stinate and unwilling to listen to the sug- 
gestions of others, or to adopt their ideas 
when, after impartial consideration, he 
finds them better than his own. His motto 
should be: "The good, the best, wher- 
ever found. ' ' He depends on the teachers 
for many things. He can not succeed 
without their co-operation, and hence he 
can not afford to reject, as a despot, their 
opinions and suggestions. In as far as he 
undertakes to do this, the good of the 
Sunday-school will suffer. All must be 
maintained in harmony, all must labor to- 
gether in one work under one head, and 
for one grand purpose, the ennobling and 
Christianizing, the salvation and sanctifi- 
cation of immortal souls. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE DIRECTOR PRESERVING ORDER 

The order of a Sunday-school depends 
largely on the priest or director in charge. 
If this one be of strong personality, he 
will impress his idea of order on the whole 
school. 

Punctuality is of Prime Importance. — • 
In maintaining order, the first thing to be 
secured is punctuality, for the tardy ar- 
rival of late comers into the Sunday- 
school hall is sure to cause more or less 
confusion. Tardiness can be lessened, if 
not eliminated, in many ways. The Sun- 
day-school should be opened exactly at the 
moment specified. Such a spirit of honor 
in regard to punctuality should be devel- 
oped that both pupils and teachers feel 
ashamed to disturb the school by entering 
late. While the opening prayer is being 
said the doors should be closed, so that the 
disturbance of tardy pupils stepping heav- 
ily on the floor may not cause distraction 

46 



The Director Preserving Order 47 

and interference. It would prove advan- 
tageous for the director to be on hand 
somewhat early, and to extend cordial 
greetings to pupils and especially to teach- 
ers. This expression of gratification 
would certainly tend to encourage punc- 
tuality. 

The Sunday-School Must he Brought to 
Order. — Exactly at the time appointed for 
the opening, the director should call the 
Sunday-school to order. This is done 
twice during the session, once at the open- 
ing and again at the close. A quiet but 
firm manner will generally prove effective. 
The call to order should not be often re- 
peated, as this tends to develop indiffer- 
ence. The teachers and the pupils soon 
learn to expect these frequent calls, and 
pay little or no heed to them. A repeated 
striking of the bell produces the same 
effect. It does not promote order, but 
rather causes all to feel that by and by 
quiet will come and then talking must 
cease. A single call to order, firm and 
dignified, ought to be enough. * ' The Sun- 
day-school will please come to order," fol- 
lowing a single stroke of the bell, or either 
one of these means alone, will in time suf- 
fice. If order and quiet do not come at 



48 The Director Preserving Order 

once, let the director simply wait. If he 
commands the respect of those before him, 
this silent waiting will at length impress 
the school, and effect the desired result. 

A Spirit of Reverence Must Prevail. — 
This is next to be secured. It will pro- 
mote order. Good order is the outgrowth 
of feeling, and a devout feeling in the 
house of God is sure to produce quiet. 
But the director can not make others feel 
that which he does not feel himself. If 
he would make others reverential, a feeling 
of reverence must fill his own heart. If 
he has this feeling, it will be manifest in 
his manner of saying the opening prayer. 
If he makes any announcements, they 
should be as brief as possible. In his 
bearing he should avoid all affectation and 
sanctimoniousness, and yet he should strive 
by his whole manner to impress all with 
the fact that they are met on serious busi- 
ness and are face to face with God. 

Quiet Must be Maintained during the 
Session. — To maintain quiet order during 
the recitation hour is primarily the duty of 
the priest superintending. The first thing 
to be done after the opening prayer and 
remarks is to see that each class is sup- 
plied with a teacher. Teachers who are to 



The Director Preserving Order 49 

be absent should inform the director be- 
forehand, so that the vacancy may then be 
filled. All classes which remain for any 
considerable time without teachers become 
sources of disorder. Youthful humanity 
will almost invariably take advantage of 
the teacher's absence by whispering and 
playing as they would not do if there was 
an older person placed in charge to keep 
them busy. At the very beginning of 
each session, therefore, some one must be 
found to take the place of each absent 
teacher. 

But even when the teacher is present, 
disorder sometimes prevails. If so, there 
is something wanting. The needs of the 
class are not well met. This deficiency 
should be discovered by the director and 
attended to as soon as possible. Some- 
times it is remedied by giving the class 
a more favorable location, thereby protect- 
ing it from the disorderly influence of sur- 
rounding classes, or by speaking with the 
teachers about the necessity of good order 
and the best methods of securing this, or, 
as a final resort, by placing over the class 
a teacher who is better qualified. By these 
and similar means quiet order must be 
maintained. 



50 The Director Preserving Order 

Profitless Interruptions Must Always he 
Avoided. — The Sunday-school hour should 
be sacredly protected from every unneces- 
sary interruption. The distribution of leaf- 
lets, pamphlets, and books, as also careless 
visiting, should be avoided. Visitors are 
sometimes present. Many of these have 
nothing to say, or, at any rate, no facility 
for addressing children. These should 
not be asked to make senseless speeches. 
There are a few, however, who have some- 
thing of importance to tell, and whose re- 
marks would be both entertaining and 
fruitful. Let the Sunday-school hear 
them. It is, indeed, a rare privilege 
which warrants the setting aside of almost 
every other work. For the director to dis- 
criminate most carefully in this matter, 
however, is a sacred duty. Moreover, 
while considering the advisability of hav- 
ing others speak, he must not forget him- 
self. If he does, he may thoughtlessly tire 
the school and waste many precious min- 
utes by vapid talk, or by needless prolixity 
in making announcements, dwelling at too 
great length on each item and indulging 
in useless and tedious repetition. 

In many Sunday-schools disorder is 
caused by some of the children leaving the 



The Director Preserving Order 51 

room before the close of the session. This 
is most often found to occur in those 
classes where the teacher has finished the 
lesson too soon, and permits the children 
to sit in idleness with nothing to occupy 
their attention, restlessly waiting for the 
close of the session. Each teacher ought 
so to master the lesson to be taught and to 
be filled with its truth, that the entire hour 
is all too short for its discussion. Then 
the teacher would instruct interestingly 
unto profit and the children in their eager- 
ness to learn would find the session brief 
and pleasant. By some means, the teacher 
must maintain orderly discipline. If he 
can not or will not do this, then he should 
be gently but firmly asked to resign his 
class, and another should be placed in 
charge of it. 

Unruly Boys and Girls Require Special 
Treatment. — Some of these are generally 
found in every Sunday-school. What is 
to be done with them? They work great 
harm by causing disturbance in the class 
and by lessening, almost destroying, the 
usefulness of the teacher. They are in- 
subordinate, saucy, and sometimes mali- 
cious. The director may often feel inclined 
to expel them from the Sunday-school and 



52 The Director Preserving Order 

thus rid himself of this annoyance. This, 
however, should he the last resort. It is 
seldom, if ever, necessary. It injures the 
child and may impel him on to a sinful life. 
In many cases it has an evil effect on the 
parents, embittering them against the Sun- 
day-school and the Church. It may cause 
them to withdraw from the Church en- 
tirely and thus to depart from all Chris- 
tian influence. And yet something must 
be done. For the child must not be per- 
mitted to interfere with the work of the 
whole class. Tact and judicious handling 
will generally remedy the trouble, bring- 
ing the troublesome one to see the evil of 
his way. With some children a little pun- 
ishment, wisely administered by the right 
party, will have the desired effect of ref- 
ormation. With others, an iron firmness 
conquers. With still others, an appeal to 
honor in a private and prudent interview, 
will work an entire change. Some boys 
are made manly and induced to turn back 
from their downward course by being 
given some office or responsibility; others 
are brought under control by being put in 
another class, away from old associates. 
If such a class is composed of pupils more 
advanced in years, they will generally feel 



The Director Preserving Order 53 

pleased and complimented, while the 
stronger influence for good wielded over 
them by these older boys will overcome 
their old disposition for mischief. There 
is always some good in such a boy, and 
often much of it. This must be found and 
developed. There is always some way to 
subdue and control him. This must be 
discovered and tried. 

The Director Must Maintain Self-Gov- 
ernment. — He who does not govern him- 
self can not govern others. Hence self- 
government is an essential qualification 
for a Sunday-school director. He must 
cultivate calmness and self-poise. He 
should neither lose control of his temper 
nor show marked signs of irritation. Any 
habit or weakness which would subject him 
to adverse and just criticism must be over- 
come and avoided. He should have an in- 
telligent realization of the Sunday-school's 
every need, and not unreasonably expect 
too much from it. The director who is 
thus self-restrained and wise will have his 
school well under control, and will find it 
comparatively easy to preserve all desired 
order and discipline. 



CHAPTEE IX 

THE DIRECTOR TEACHING 

He is Responsible for the Teaching of 
All. — The character of a Sunday-school's 
teaching depends largely on the efforts of 
the director in charge. He is the one who 
must assemble the Sunday-school, grade 
and classify the pupils, appoint the teach- 
ers, plan the course of study, and super- 
intend all. Moreover, if not from desire, 
at least from duty, he must be the teacher 
of teachers. From this task he should not 
shrink. It may require both time and 
thoughtful study; it may occasionally be 
difficult ; but yet it must be done. It often 
proves far easier, however, than first ap- 
pearances indicate. For among the teach- 
ers of almost every Sunday-school, there 
are found some who< are well qualified. 
These by suggestion, recommendation, and 
related experience will encourage and as- 
sist the others to improve both in method 
and work. In this, as also in many other 
54 



The Director Teaching 55 

ways, the director should strive so to stim- 
ulate and direct the activity of his help- 
ers as to render the efficiency of each as 
great as possible for good. In as far as he 
fails to do this, the Sunday-school will fail 
in its mission. 

He Must Teach by His Life.— The life of 
the director is a living object lesson. It 
therefore should evidence the fact that he 
is sincere in his desire for the truth, and 
faithful in the practice of his religion; 
that he is laboring as best he can and still 
depending on God to bless and fructify his 
endeavors; that he realizes the sacredness 
of his office, and, inspired by an ardent 
desire to increase his Christianizing influ- 
ence over souls, is ever looking for the 
most practical application of the spiritual 
lesson taught. In his words, his deeds, 
and his life, even in his manner, intona- 
tion, and unconscious indication of con- 
viction, he is inevitably a teacher of good 
or evil. 

He is the Presiding Teacher at the 
Teachers' Meetings. — An excellent oppor- 
tunity for him to teach directly is afforded 
at the teachers' meetings. In the Sunday- 
school he may not be able, in fact, gener- 
ally speaking, he ought not attempt to 



56 The Director Teaching 

take charge of a class. Enough for him 
to do will be found elsewhere. But if he 
has the ability and can assemble the teach- 
ers at some time during the week, much 
can be accomplished which otherwise 
would be left undone. If for any reason 
it is found impossible to hold teachers' 
meetings each week, at least they should be 
held occasionally. The director and his 
teachers should meet at stated times in 
conference. Past work should be dis- 
cussed, suggestions offered, new methods 
adopted, and future work outlined. This 
will bring the teaching activity of the Sun- 
day-school into unity, infuse into it new 
and more enthusiastic life, and direct all 
so that the best possible results will be 
obtained. 



CHAPTER X 

THE DIRECTOR SUPPLYING AND APPOINTING 
TEACHERS 

The Supplying of Teachers is an Im- 
portant Duty. — It is, in fact, one of the 
most important duties of the Sunday- 
school director, and it is, at the same time, 
one that requires exact judgment and un- 
stinted labor. For very few are the par- 
ishes within whose limits is found a suf- 
ficient number of teachers who are avail- 
able, qualified, and willing. 

How May These Teachers be Supplied? 
— How is the pastor or director to supply 
for his Sunday-school the desired number 
of trained teachers f 

1. By an exhortation made from the pul- 
pit. Those qualified should be urged from 
the pulpit to assist in Sunday-school teach- 
ing. In the task of supplying teachers, 
much can be accomplished by this means. 
The importance of the Sunday-school 
should be explained, as should the neces- 
sity of having competent teachers to as- 
57 



58 The Director Supplying 

sist by taking charge of the several classes ; 
the dignity and sacredness of the work 
should be dwelt upon, and the teachers 
should be made to realize that their self- 
denying efforts will be appreciated by all 
and richly rewarded by the One for whom 
they are made. 

2. By personal requests to teach, coming 
from the director. Ordinarily, the priest 
knows personally at least the greater num- 
ber of his parishioners. He is familiar 
with their points of excellence and also 
with their limitations. He is competent 
to judge their qualifications for teaching. 
Hence in the work of supplying teachers, 
he should strive to secure those who are 
most competent ; and when it is found nec- 
essary, he should not hestitate to invite 
these individually and personally to assist 
him. 

3. By having a corps of substitute teach- 
ers. Besides the regular teachers, the di- 
rector should have a list of those who can 
be called upon at any time for substitute 
work. Some of these may be members of 
the more advanced classes, especially of 
the normal class ; others may be those per- 
sons who find it impossible to attend Sun- 
day-school regularly, but nevertheless are 



And Appointing Teachers 59 

able and willing to make a special effort to 
come in case of need. Their willingness 
should be recognized and their assistance 
secured. In the larger Sunday-schools, 
teachers of this class form a corps of work- 
ers as important as it is necessary. 

4. By training the older pupils in the 
art of teaching. With the members of the 
more advanced classes, this is an impor- 
tant duty devolving on the several teach- 
ers. As many as possible of the young 
people should be qualified to graduate from 
the Sunday-school into the teaching force. 
A little tact, wisdom, patience, and per- 
severance will effect this, and thereby 
perpetuate a continued supply of teach- 
ers. 

5. By maintaining a normal class. 
Every large Sunday-school should have 
connected with it a normal class in which 
those who are willing to serve as teachers 
may be trained. Such a class will not only 
serve to supply qualified teachers for reg- 
ular class work, but also substitutes re- 
quired for taking charge for a Sunday or 
two, when the regular teacher is absent. 
Even in many of the smaller Sunday- 
schools, such a class would undoubtedly 
prove advantageous. 



60 The Director Supplying 

6. By having an installation of teach- 
ers. In connection with the commence- 
ment exercises of the Sunday-school, the 
graduates, or at least some of them, should 
be received into the teaching force by some 
special installation service. This will tend 
to impress the teachers, and in fact the 
entire school, with a sense of the privileges 
as well as the responsibilities of the Sun- 
day-school teacher's office and work. 

The Director Should Choose His Teach- 
ers Wisely. — It is not enough to have a 
sufficient number of competent teachers 
available. It is also necessary to choose 
the best from those at hand. This the 
director should do with the greatest 
care. 

Each Teacher Should be Adapted to His 
Class. — In appointing teachers to the 
various classes, it is vitally important that 
each teacher should be adapted to the class 
assigned to his charge. Much depends on 
this. For a teacher may succeed with one 
class who would fail utterly with another. 
Success is always promoted by bringing 
into united activity two harmonious indi- 
vidualities. There may be a marked dif- 
ference between them, and yet a mutual 
fitness may blend their individual endeav- 



And Appointing Teachers 61 

ors into one. With some classes almost 
any ordinary teacher will succeed. Of 
others, this is not true. For example, the 
kindergarten to be a success must be 
placed in the charge of a specialist who is 
expert in kindergarten work. So also the 
more advanced classes need a teacher of 
peculiar talent. If such special teachers 
are not supplied, the members of these 
classes will soon lose interest in the reci- 
tations and decrease in number. 

Day-School Teachers are Most Desira- 
ble. — As a rule the teachers of the day- 
school prove most efficient helpers in Sun- 
day-school work. They are generally 
familiar with both the theory and the 
practice of methodical teaching. They 
understand youthful human nature, and 
are skilled in the practice of adaptation, as 
also in the art of governing. Some of the 
day-school teachers, however, may feel 
disinclined to give the desired assistance, 
pleading the necessity of rest, and arguing 
that after having taught five days of the 
week they can not continue the same kind 
of work on Sunday. While, in the case 
of some few teachers who are overworked 
and out of health, this objection is reason- 
able, it is by no means valid in the case of 



62 The Director Supplying Teachers 

the many. Their work is light, they have 
a long rest on Saturday, and they will be 
none the worse off for helping in the Sun- 
day-school for an hour or so on Sunday. 
Hence, whenever it is possible, their as- 
sistance should be secured and their talent 
called into use. 

Sunday-School Teachers Should he Spe- 
cialists. — The principle followed by the 
professors of our normal schools and col- 
leges is this: "In order to develop good 
teachers, we must not try to have them 
cover too much ground; we must make 
them specialists." So in the Sunday- 
school, let the kindergartner remain a kin- 
dergartner, and let the teacher of the Bible 
class keep at that work. The child should 
be regularly advanced from one class to 
another, and from one grade to the next 
higher, but the teacher should not go with 
the pupil. He should return to the task 
of the previous year, and go over the very 
same work. This will prove of great ad- 
vantage. Each succeeding year will give 
him a clearer knowledge of the doctrines 
taught, a fuller realization of their truth 
and power, a greater proficiency in the use 
of right method, and hence an ever-increas- 
ing success in Sunday-school endeavor. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE RELATION AND DUTIES OF THE PASTOR TO 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

He is its Chief Officer. — The pastor of a 
church is generally the one who should 
take personal charge of the Sunday-school, 
and, as superintendent, control and direct 
its activity. In some places, however, this 
may be found impossible, or at least disad- 
vantageous. Here an assistant or, if cir- 
cumstances render it necessary, a compe- 
tent layman is entrusted with this sacred 
duty. But even after this appointment 
has been made, the pastor continues to be 
the parochial head of the church, and hence 
the chief parochial officer of this most es- 
sential part thereof, the Sunday-school. 
He has, in fact, as much right to direct 
Sunday-school endeavor as he has to man- 
age any other department of church work. 
At the same time, the appointed director 
has certain personal and delegated rights. 
These the pastor should carefully ascertain 
and conscientiously respect. Unless this 
63 



64 The Relation and Duties of 

is done, little of good will be accomplished 
by the ones placed in charge. Their work 
should be definitely assigned, it is true, 
and general directions given for its ac- 
complishment, but after this has been done, 
in as far as their competency shows it to 
be advisable, they should be left to them- 
selves to formulate their own plans, carry 
them out in their own way, and to act 
under as little restraint as proves to be 
advantageous. We expect this treatment 
from those placed over us; we should ac- 
cord the same to our subordinates; for 
their position is like unto ours and their 
personal rights similar. The pastor, 
therefore, in dealing with the director 
whom he has placed in charge of the Sun- 
day-school, should not be arbitrary or 
despotic, but wisely prudent and harmo- 
niously co-operative. All counsel and as- 
sistance given should be such as will tend 
to increase the Sunday-school's efficiency 
for good. 

The Pastor Should Promote in Every 
Way Possible the Work of the Sunday- 
School. — This may be effected by various 
means, among which are the following: 

1. He should keep the parish thoroughly 
interested in the Sunday-school. Unless 



The Pastor to the Sunday-School 65 

he does this, the right relationship will not 
be maintained between them, and the con- 
tinned co-operation of the parish, required 
for making the Snnday-school a success, 
will not be given. In his announcements 
he should speak of Sunday-school needs 
and strive to promote its interests. In his 
sermons, and especially in his instructions, 
he should refer to the lessons there taught 
and to the good therein effected. While 
making pastoral calls around the parish, 
he should discuss with the parents the 
achievements of the Sunday-school, strive 
to secure the prompt and regular attend- 
ance of children, and endeavor to enlist 
the service of new teachers to replace those 
who have resigned. 

2. The pastor should be the friend and 
adviser of every teacher. The teacher's 
work is very similar to his own. In fact, 
the teacher, while in charge of a class, is 
laboring with the pastor in a common 
cause. Moreover, he is performing a part 
of the pastor's bounden duty. Hence a 
common interest and a spirit of mutual 
helpfulness should unite them. The pas- 
tor should do all he can to encourage the 
efforts of his teachers and to increase their 
efficiency in saving souls. The most fa- 



66 The Relation and Duties of 

vorable time and place for this is at the 
teachers ' meetings. Here much can be ac- 
complished in the way of instructing the 
teachers and of directing their activity 
along the right lines. 

3. The pastor should confer with the di- 
rector whom he has placed in charge. He 
should discuss with him the success of the 
Sunday-school and also its failure, and 
plan with him the best means of increasing 
its efficiency. The wide experience and 
special training of the pastor render his 
suggestions and plans worthy of the most 
serious consideration; while his point of 
view, seeing as he does the needs of the 
whole church and not merely of one de- 
partment, tends to make his judgment in 
this matter most weighty. 

4. The pastor, even when not director, 
should assist in the Sunday-school. Al- 
though it may be impossible or inadvisable 
for him to assume the entire charge of the 
Sunday-school, still this fact by no means 
releases him from its every responsibility. 
There remains over and above the proper 
duties of the director much work and good 
to be accomplished by him. This he should 
neither forget nor neglect. He should will- 
ingly and gladly give all needed assistance 



The Pastor to the Sunday-School 67 

whenever it is possible for him to do so. 
Moreover, his presence in the Sunday- 
school should be a familiar sight welcome 
to all. Especially in the larger Sunday- 
schools there is much which he can do. 
Now he can take temporary charge of one 
class, and now of another, thereby giving 
valuable instruction to the different classes, 
becoming acquainted with the individual 
pupils, and winning their confidence, their 
good will, and perhaps even their souls to 
God. He can move quietly about the school, 
giving any desired assistance, now to this 
class and now to that, always taking care, 
however, that he does not interrupt more 
useful instruction by interspersing less use- 
ful remarks. By his influence and guid- 
ance, as well as by his remarks and re- 
views, he should strive to assist in making 
the Sunday-school more active and efficient. 
In this way, he should make manifest to 
teacher and pupil the kindly, unselfish in- 
terest which he feels in their work, so that 
they will realize ever more and more the 
fact that he is doing all for their own true 
welfare. 



CHAPTEE XII 

THE DUTIES OF PARENTS TO THE 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

The Parents Must Co-operate with the 
Sunday-School. — By far the greater num- 
ber of our Sunday-school children are liv- 
ing under the paternal roof and subject to 
paternal control. Hence, if the Sunday- 
school is to be made a success, the parents 
must appreciate its importance, use their 
influence and authority in its behalf, and 
co-operate heartily in its work. 

Parents Must See That Their Children 
Attend Regularly and Punctually. — Not 
only must the children be sent, but more 
must be done. The parents must see that 
they actually attend ; and, if necessary, ac- 
company them to the very door of the 
Sunday-school hall. Occasionally, at least, 
the parents could even enter and remain 
with the children. Their presence always 
gives needed encouragement both to 
teacher and child. In most cases, how- 
ever, no great exertion of authority is 
68 



Parents and Sunday-School 69 

needed to secure the desired attendance. 
A little care and tact is effective. If chil- 
dren are made to realize the necessity and 
advantage of attending Sunday-school, 
they are generally willing, if not glad, to 
be present. In most cases, the chief work 
required of parents is to make regular 
attendance convenient and pleasant. Suit- 
able clothing should be provided for the 
children. Their dress should be, not ex- 
travagant, but attractively neat, so they 
will find pleasure in appearing among 
others. Their meals should be prepared 
at suitable hours, and, when necessary, ar- 
rangements should be made for their con- 
veyance. 

Parents Should See that Their Children 
Learn Thoroughly the Lesson Assigned. — - 
They should supply their children with 
suitable books, find out each week pre- 
cisely the lesson which has been given, 
and, if possible, have a definitely ap- 
pointed time during which the lesson is 
studied. Every encouragement and as- 
sistance should be afforded. In many 
cases the parents can and should qualify 
themselves and teach their children the 
same lessons which are to be more fully 
explained in the Sunday-school. This is 



70 The Duties of Parents 

a necessary and most important part of 
the Sunday-school work. 

Parents Should Promote Sunday-School 
Discipline. — For obvious reasons it is 
sometimes impossible to enforce in the 
Sunday-school the same discipline as that 
found in the day-school. Improvement, 
however, in this regard is often to be de- 
sired; and the parents can do much, at 
least indirectly, to assist in effecting it. 
The authority of those placed over the 
Sunday-school should be supported in all 
cases, until its use has been shown to be 
clearly unjust. Even then less inconve- 
nience and evil will often result from for- 
bearance than from resistance. Moreover, 
any child found guilty of misconduct in the 
Sunday-school should be censured, and, if 
needs be, punished at home. 

Parents Should Avoid Criticising the 
Sunday-School Adversely. — They should 
regard the Sunday-school in its true light, 
as a department of Christ's Church, and 
its work as a continuance of His mission. 
Never in the presence of their children 
should they be heard criticising either the 
director, or the teachers, or the Sunday- 
school itself. Seldom is it realized how 
great an influence the conversation of par- 



To the Sunday-School 71 

ents wields over the lives of their children. 
The words are listened to and pondered. 
Even the tone of voice is noted and in- 
stinctively understood. The seed sinks 
deep into the heart, and in time bears fruit 
of good or evil. Slighting and adversely 
critical remarks coming from parents al- 
ways tend to destroy the child's respect 
for the teacher and to lessen the teacher's 
influence for good over the child. If ad- 
verse criticism seems necessary, let the 
parent be manly about it, and going per- 
sonally to the director or teacher present 
his complaint or grievance. When this is 
done, a satisfactory agreement is gener- 
ally arrived at. No misunderstanding 
should be permitted to exist between the 
home and the Sunday-school. For the 
zealous efforts of both, working as one, 
are required to save the child from sin 
and eternal ruin by enlightening its mind, 
ennobling its heart, Christianizing its en- 
deavor, and leading it on through a virtu- 
ous life into heaven unto God. 



CHAPTEE XIII 

THE SUBORDINATE OFFICERS OF THE 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

How Many Officers Are Required? — 
The number of officers needed in a Sunday- 
school depends almost entirely on its size 
and organization. In the larger and bet- 
ter organized schools it has been found 
advantageous to have an assistant direc- 
tor, secretary, treasurer, and librarian. 
In schools which are smaller, the same 
person may easily fill two or more of these 
offices. In a word, the number required 
is such as will render the efficiency of each 
Sunday-school as great as possible for 
good. 

Duties of the Assistant Director. — As 
the name implies, the one who is en- 
trusted with this office should assist the 
director by performing under his super- 
vision all work assigned. In as far as it is 
found possible and advantageous, how- 
ever, he should have certain definite duties 
of his own. To him could be allotted the 
72 



Subordinate Officers 73 

work of supplying teachers to these classes 
whose regular teachers are absent, of as- 
sisting in a general way to maintain dis- 
cipline, of teaching for a short time now 
this class and now that, and of taking 
charge of the Sunday-school whenever the 
director is absent. 

Duties of the Secretary. — The secretary 
should have charge of all Sunday-school 
records and reports. If these are kept on 
file from month to month and from year to 
year, they will prove to be most interest- 
ing, helpful, and also valuable for ref- 
erence. The secretary should also keep in 
systematic order a complete catalogue of 
teachers and pupils. This may be done by 
means of a book specially prepared for 
that purpose, or else by means of the card 
system. A card may be allotted to each 
member of the school on which is written 
all desired information. These cards 
should be kept on file for reference. This 
system to be complete should employ three 
sets of cards, one alphabetic, one made out 
according to the streets, and one according 
to the teachers having charge of the sev- 
eral pupils. The last two may be very 
brief and serve simply as indices to the 
first, which should contain all essential 



74 The Subordinate Officers 

points of information. When desired, the 
secretary may also prepare weekly or 
monthly reports, and send out notices to 
those who have been absent, or better, to 
their parents. This would help im- 
measurably in securing promptness and 
regularity of attendance. 

Duties of the Treasurer. — The treasurer 
should keep an accurate account of the 
Sunday-school's financial income and ex- 
penditure. Ordinarily the pastor remains 
in charge of this work. 

Duties of the Librarian. — A library of 
well-selected Catholic books is or should 
be placed at the disposal of almost every 
Sunday-school. The librarian should have 
charge of this, should take proper care of 
the books, and should see that these are 
invariably, even regularly returned. 

Who Should be Selected to Fill These 
Offices? — In many parishes young ladies 
or women are entrusted with all these va- 
rious duties. Experience, however, clearly 
shows that they are performed as well and 
generally better by men ; that is, when the 
right men are chosen and when the right 
places are assigned to them individually. 
But irrespective of sex or age, the persons 
appointed to these offices should be the 



Of the Sunday-School 75 

most reliable and the most competent ones 
available. 

Except in Small Sunday-Schools Subor- 
dinate Officers are a Necessity. — In the 
larger Sunday-schools, at least some of- 
ficers should be had to assist the director 
in the performance of his manifold duties. 
For these are certainly far too numerous 
to be performed properly by any one per- 
son. Those who culpably believe other- 
wise, and who persist in dispensing with 
all help, fail in many things and leave 
much undone. Such persons may justly 
be accused of voluntarily refusing to pre- 
vent the eternal loss of immortal souls, 
and will be held responsible for the same 
before the throne of divine judgment. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND CHURCH SOCIETIES 

Church Societies are a Great Aid to Sun- 
day-School Work. — The pastor's sole en- 
deavor is so to instruct and guide the 
members of his parish that each will live a 
Christian life and gain salvation. His one 
purpose is to keep the greatest possible 
number of parishioners under the influence 
and control of the Church. Those who are 
most successful concur in saying that it is 
difficult to accomplish this without thor- 
ough and efficient organization. The mem- 
bers of a parish must be marshalled into 
line as soldiers in an army, with the pas- 
tor as general, commanding all according 
to the will of God. This organization is 
best effected by the aid of societies. In 
most of our modern up-to-date parishes 
societies adapted to each class of parish- 
ioners are found thoroughly organized. 
Thus in some churches, the boys have a 
junior branch of the Holy Name Society 
76 



The Sunday-School and Societies 11 

from which at a certain age they pass into 
the senior branch, which is organized for 
all the men of the parish. As to the girls, 
as soon as they have received their first 
holy communion, they are enrolled in the 
Holy Angels' Sodality. From this at a 
specified age they are admitted into the 
St. Agnes ' Sodality, and later into that of 
the Children of Mary. The married 
women of the parish are members of the 
Eosary Society. 

In this way the parishioners are organ- 
ized into societies, banded together for as- 
sisting in Church work, brought into 
friendly acquaintanceship at their meet- 
ings, and influenced to approach in a body 
for the frequent reception of the sacra- 
ments. 

In the formation of the various Church 
societies, whatever their names may be, it 
will be found that they are largely the out- 
growth of Sunday-school endeavor. If 
the children are rightly educated in the 
Sunday-school, they find it easy and pleas- 
ant to enter the various societies organ- 
ized for their spiritual benefit, and at 
least a great number of them are found to 
persevere in the strict observance of pre- 
scribed rules. As a result, it becomes pos- 



78 The Sunday-School and Societies 

sible to bring the people of the parish to- 
gether, not only for social entertainment, 
but also for religions instrnction and de- 
votion. Then, too, these societies afford 
the pastor an opportunity of meeting in 
social session the members of his parish, 
of exerting over them a personal influence 
for good, of fostering a more loyal and 
self-sacrificing adherence to the Church, 
and of securing a more faithful attendance 
of both teacher and pupil at Sunday-school. 
In a word, it is found that these societies 
tend to make the parish join as an organ- 
ized body in the work of personal salva- 
tion, of parish support, and especially of 
the religious education of Christ's little 
ones. The better a parish is organized 
into societies, the more thoroughly efficient 
its Sunday-school is found to be. 



CHAPTER XY 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL EDUCATING CHUECH 
WORKERS 

The Children Should be Taught to Sup- 
port the Church. — The Sunday-school pu- 
pils of to-day will be the parishioners of the 
near future. Church work will then have 
to be done and Church expenses defrayed 
even as now. The children must be trained 
for this ; for if the spirit of self-sacrifice is 
not now developed in their hearts, it will 
be found difficult in later years to break 
through the habit of neglect and selfish- 
ness and to induce them to part with their 
hard-earned wages even for the sake of 
Christ's holy cause. Each child, there- 
fore, should be carefully trained to do his 
part in working for the Church and in de- 
fraying its necessary expense. This is an 
important, a vital part of his religious ed- 
ucation, and the Sunday-school that fails 
not only to teach this lesson, but also to 
influence the children to adopt its practice, 
should be censured for neglecting to per- 
79 



80 Educating Church-Workers 

form one of its most sacred duties. The 
children should be brought to realize that 
even as others are now defraying the ex- 
pense entailed by the work of saving their 
souls, so they in the course of time will be 
obliged by duty to assist in defraying the 
expense of saving the souls of others who 
will be unable, or perhaps unwilling, to 
bear the cost of their own salvation. If 
future generations are negligent in labor- 
ing and sacrificing for this cause, then as 
a result at least some immortal souls will 
be lost, and this eternal loss will be justly 
attributed to the defective training im- 
parted in our present Sunday-school. 
Hence the salvation of future generations 
depends in no small measure on the pres- 
ent training of our children. 

It is true the child's ability to help in 
Church work is limited, and its means of 
giving is almost insignificant, still its as- 
sistance should be encouraged and grate- 
fully accepted as being the best offering 
that can be given, and therefore one most 
precious in the sight of God. 



CHAPTEE XVI 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL ENTEKTAINMENTS 

Occasional Sunday-School Entertain- 
ments Are Useful. — They are, in fact, al- 
most a necessity. Young people need re- 
laxation and enjoyment. Their memories 
of the Sunday-school should be pleasant 
and delightful. They should at times be 
convened for social pleasure, to become 
acquainted with one another, and to have 
their thoughts and desires blended into 
friendly union. An occasional entertain- 
ment is at once an opportunity and a 
means for accomplishing this. If prop- 
erly conducted, they foster and maintain a 
spirit of friendly good-will among the pu- 
pils and lively enthusiasm for the school. 
They serve to advertise this and to attract 
children into its classes. Hence they are 
not only a source of pleasure, but also of 
great helpfulness. 

Too Much Entertainment in the Sunday- 
School is Dangerous. — It develops in the 
81 



82 Sunday -School Entertainments 

children a too great desire for amusement, 
impedes the regular Sunday-school work, 
and tends to demoralize rather than to 
build up. It attracts the attention of both 
teacher and pupil away from God. The 
needs of the soul are forgotten, and the 
school is changed into a mere social club, 
whose chief purpose is to amuse for the 
moment. Under no consideration should 
these entertainments be allowed to inter- 
fere with the religious work or the spiritual 
life of the school. At them all that is 
coarse, and ill-timed should be avoided, 
and especially all that has even the ap- 
pearance of wrong. At Christmas time, 
the Sunday-school should have an enter- 
tainment by all means, but it should be had 
in celebrating a Christmas in which Christ 
is the central figure and thought. A few 
well-chosen remarks from the pastor, a 
few choice tableaux representing Christmas 
scenes, Christmas carols sweetly sung by 
the children, and presents given out in a 
kindly manner, will touch the heart and 
prove helpful without lessening the pleas- 
ure of the occasion. 

Educational Entertainments Are Be- 
coming Ever More Popular. — These by 
blending pleasure and instruction appeal 



Sunday-School Entertainments 83 

to both teacher and child. Sometimes a 
stereopticon is used and found valuable. 
By means of it, there can be pictured be- 
fore the children views from the life of 
Christ, scenes from the Bible, from Church 
History, and from many other subjects 
which if explained by appropriate remarks 
will prove of vital interest and helpfulness 
to all. Music can be introduced, as also 
songs, hymns, elocutionary readings, and 
declamations. Occasional entertainments 
of this sort will give a pleasing variety to 
Sunday-school work, and will serve to at- 
tract and instruct many who otherwise 
would perhaps never come under the in- 
fluence of the Christian religion. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND TEMPERANCE WORK 

Temperance Should be Taught in the 
Sunday-School. — The word temperance in 
its broadest and truest sense signifies a 
proper rational self-control in the nse of 
God's creatures. By some, however, it is 
employed almost exclusively to express the 
right use of intoxicants. Temperance in 
all things, but especially in this, is one of 
life's fundamental duties. Hence the Sun- 
day-school is strictly obliged both to teach 
its principles and to inculcate its practice. 

The Sunday-School Should Represent 
Temperance as a Moral Duty. — The pur- 
pose of the Sunday-school is to teach, at 
least in outline, all the doctrines of Chris- 
tianity and all those duties of life which are 
found either in the revealed Word of God 
or in the natural law. Of these doctrines 
and duties it should omit none that are 
prominent or important. 

That temperance is a duty which is 
84 



Sunday-School and Temperance 85 

taught plainly and repeatedly in the 
Word of God and which has been in- 
culcated from the beginning by the Church, 
no one can truthfully deny. It is taught 
by the doctrine that the human body is 
the living temple of the Holy Ghost to be 
kept clean and sanctified for His indwell- 
ing. It is taught in the great funda- 
mental doctrine, that God, the Creator and 
sovereign Lord of all, commands us to keep 
ourselves under proper control and to rule 
according to right reason our every desire 
and passion. In the Scriptures, temper- 
ance is taught repeatedly and forcibly by 
means of graphically pictured events which 
vividly illustrate both the evils arising 
from over-indulgence and the manifold 
benefits derived from due abstinence. So 
numerous are these examples and so evi- 
dently do they manifest the divine will 
that it is impossible for the Sunday-school 
to teach His commandments faithfully 
without at the same time representing 
temperance as a moral duty sacred in the 
sight of man and God. 

The Sunday-School Must Warn its Pu- 
pils against the Evils of Intemperance. — It 
would be false to its trust received from on 
High, unworthy of its profession as teacher 



86 The Sunday-School 

of righteousness, and fail in its work of 
properly training the youth, if it did not 
strive to impress on the mind and heart of 
each child a right idea in regard to the evil 
of all intemperance, but especially in re- 
gard to that of drunkenness. Christianity 
has practically overcome and vanquished 
one after another a great variety of evils ; 
as for instance, the Vendetta, trial by tor- 
ture, duelling, polygamy, slavery and the 
like. Intemperance in the use of intoxi- 
cants has to some extent been checked, but 
in many places it still is prevalent and 
even popular. That it works great evil 
and causes dire misery no one will deny. 
It ruins the home, making the existence of 
the wife and the mother wretched and at 
times unendurable. It debauches the youth, 
and directly or indirectly destroys his pros- 
pects of life and his virtue. It debases our 
men and allures them down to the level of 
the brute. It causes many a Catholic to be- 
come a traitor to his religion and his God 
by a scandalous life. One-fourth of the 
insanity and three-fourths of the crime and 
pauperism found in our land has been at- 
tributed to its influence and effects. Di- 
rectly or indirectly, it has increased enor- 
mously the expense of court and jail. 



And Temperance Work 87 

"Worst of all, it has seduced, and is seduc- 
ing thousands, even millions into the 
drunkards ' hell. Surely it requires no ar- 
gument to show that a monstrous vice such 
as this should! receive due attention in 
the Sunday-school, and that the young 
should be thoroughly warned against its 
baneful power. 

The Sunday-School Must Advance a 
Safeguard against the Evil of Intemper- 
ance. — The chief remedy for drunkenness 
is not to be found in the civil law, but in 
Christian morality maintained by divine 
grace. The child must be educated to re- 
alize that by yielding to the allurements of 
intemperance he lessens his chance of suc- 
cess, increases his misfortune, degrades 
his manliness, offends his God, and risks 
his eternal salvation. More than this, he 
must be so influenced by these or nobler 
motives, as also by the grace of God, that 
he will strive as best he can to avoid not 
only intoxication but also at least its prox- 
imate occasions. This is just the defence 
against drunkenness which the Church of 
Christ is furnishing. No other organiza- 
tion or power is so well fitted to educate 
the young in this duty, and to build around 
them a wall of moral conviction high 



88 The Sunday-School 

enough and strong enough to save them 
from drink's allurement and captivity. 

The Sunday-School Must Overcome this 
Evil Largely by Prevention. — The Church 
tries as best she can, but often it is most 
difficult, at times seemingly impossible, to 
reform the confirmed drunkard. Death 
alone seems able to end his career of 
sin. No sooner is one drunkard dead, 
however, than another appears from the 
ranks of the young to take his place. Thus 
from year to year, the total number of 
drunkards continues about the same. 
Hence, as has so often been said, if some 
remedy were found to prevent the young 
from joining the ranks of older and con- 
firmed drunkards, the supply of new re- 
cruits would be cut off, and in the course of 
a generation or two this evil would be 
practically destroyed. None will deny 
that prevention is not only the surest me- 
thod of stamping out this evil, but that it is 
also the easiest and the best ; it is also the 
one which accomplishes the most in reform- 
ing those already enslaved by drink. The 
great work of the Church, therefore, is so 
to instruct and train the youth, and so to 
surround them with good influence that 
even the children of drunkards will grow 



And Temperance Work 89 

up hostile to the abuse of intoxicants. Of- 
ten the conviction thus developed is found 
to be so deep and intense that these chil- 
dren even to their dying day experience no 
desire or appetite for intoxicating drink, 
in fact, are nauseated against its use. 

How Should the Sunday-School Teach 
Temperance? — Many occasions will pre- 
sent themselves in the Sunday-school for 
speaking of temperance and emphasizing 
its benefits. The teachers can judiciously 
and sedulously inculcate its principles. 
The director or pastor can at times make 
it a special topic when addressing the en- 
tire school assembled. Moreover, temper- 
ance work can be made a feature of some, 
or, if found desirable, of all, the church so- 
cieties and sodalities; or a special temper- 
ance society can be organized. This so- 
ciety could be broad enough to include in 
its membership all desirable persons. Its 
aim and purpose should be to promote a 
temperance sentiment, to keep the subject 
alive before the people, and to influence 
and strengthen the endeavor of all who are 
laboring for the extermination of drunken- 
ness. Its main effort should be prevent- 
ive. Total abstinence should be practised 
by all members who are less than twenty- 



90 The Sunday -School 

one years of age, as also by those who find 
that the use of intoxicants means for them 
abuse. As to the others, if for the sake of 
giving good example and encouragement 
to those less strong, they voluntarily de- 
sire to take the pledge, permission should 
be given to do so. All members should 
at least practice due temperance. 

The Pledge is a Power for Good. — In 
such a society the chief method in vogue 
is that of taking the pledge. Hence the 
society's great work is to sign these pledges 
and to keep them unbroken. This should 
also be a special work of the Sunday- 
school. A book containing suitable pledges 
should be kept and the children, after they 
have arrived at a certain age, should be in- 
duced to sign them. Before being per- 
mitted to do this, however, it should be 
known with moral certainty that they un- 
derstand what they are doing, that they 
are acting freely, and that they sincerely 
intend to keep the pledge as signed. In 
many parishes a most commendable prac- 
tice prevails; all the children are influ- 
enced to take the pledge on the day of their 
first holy communion, or of Confirmation. 
When this is done a pledge card should be 
duly signed by each child and preserved 



And Temperance Work 91 

by him as a remembrance and souvenir. 
Right Views on Temperance Should be 
Set Forth in the Sunday -School. — Extreme 
views should be sedulously avoided as 
harmful and ruinous to the cause. Hence 
those in charge of the Sunday-school, if 
their ideas are either too rigorous or too 
lax on the subject of temperance, should 
set themselves aright, and then by word 
and by life leave nothing possible undone 
to train and instruct the several pupils, 
so that each will practise temperance not 
only in regard to the use of intoxicating 
drinks, but also in regard to all the labors 
and desires and pleasures of life. 



CHAPTEB XVIII 

THE BEST TIME FOR SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

This Depends Largely on Circum- 
stances. — The question as to the best time 
for holding Sunday-school can not be an- 
swered without serious consideration. It 
depends almost entirely on the particular 
needs and conditions of each school and 
church. The Sunday-school session must 
be held at a time when it will not inter- 
fere with Church services, when it will be 
easiest to secure the regular attendance 
of teachers and pupils, and when all are 
favorably disposed for doing their best 
work. 

In Theory, the Morning is Prefer- 
able. — Theoretically speaking, the best 
time for holding Sunday-school is during 
the early morning hour. The teachers 
who attend the morning Mass will then 
find it easy to be present ; and the children 
will be in their freshest, brightest, and 
most thoughtful mood. 
92 



Best Time for Sunday -School 93 

In Practice, the Afternoon is Found 
More Favorable, — The director of the 
school is generally the pastor or one of his 
assistants. Ordinarily, he has quite enough 
to attend to on Sunday morning without 
being burdened with extra work, espe- 
cially since he is generally fasting at least 
during a greater part of the morning. 
Moreover, some of the teachers find it in- 
convenient, and often impossible, to at- 
tend the particular Mass before which or 
after which the Sunday-school is held. 
Then too, when this is held before the 
children's Mass, it is found that many of 
them are tardy; and when it is held after 
the Mass, the time is too limited and the 
children too fatigued for satisfactory 
work. Finally, in many homes the chil- 
dren must go to one Mass and the parents 
to another. Consequently, when the chil- 
dren are compelled to attend Sunday- 
school, the parents find it impossible to as- 
sist at Mass. In a word, it is generally 
found that holding Sunday-school in the 
morning overtaxes the strength of priest, 
teacher, and child. 

There are, in fact, many reasons why it 
is better to divide the work of the day so 
that a part can be done in the morning and 



94 Best Time for Sunday-School 

the rest in the afternoon. This causes the 
entire day to be observed as holy, and 
gives many children, who otherwise would 
be running wild, a place to go and some- 
thing to do, thereby keeping them away 
from evil associates and under the influ- 
ence of good. Those who were tired after 
the morning service are now rested and 
refreshed and prepared for the class work. 
As a result the Sunday-school has an at- 
tendance and a power which would other- 
wise be wanting. 

Even in those parishes where there is a 
parochial school, the best results are se- 
cured by having the children learn and 
recite during the week the lesson assigned 
and explained on Sunday afternoon. 

Different Classes May he Held at Dif- 
ferent Hours. — Under some conditions, it 
has been found advantageous, even neces- 
sary, to assemble the different classes of 
the Sunday-school at different times. In 
parishes where many of the children live 
in the country and at a considerable dis- 
tance from the church, they often find it 
practically impossible to walk or drive 
back again for Sunday-school. Still these 
children need religious instruction and 
should have it. This can be given by hav- 



Best Time for Sunday-School 95 

ing a class organized for their special ben- 
efit and held immediately before or after 
one of the morning Masses. In this way, 
the pastor should so arrange the time for 
holding Sunday-school that ample oppor- 
tunity will be given to every child of the 
parish for becoming familiar with the 
truth of God, with the means of salvation, 
and with the joy and glory which will re- 
ward his faithfulness in heaven. 



CHAPTEE XIX 

THE KINDERGARTEN DEPARTMENT 

The Kindergarten is Desirable and Nec- 
essary. — Even in a smaller Sunday-school, 
the kindergarten is most desirable, pro- 
vided there are enough children who can 
not read to be gathered into it. In the 
larger schools it is a necessity. Very 
young children can not be taught by ordi- 
nary methods. "Where this is attempted, 
they soon lose all interest and cease to at- 
tend. With them a special plan is pur- 
sued. They are gathered by themselves, 
and taught by kindergarten methods. 
This introduction of kindergarten work 
into the Sunday-school is undoubtedly ef- 
fecting great good. It is attracting the 
younger children and training them into 
regular attendance at Sunday-school. It 
is instructing and preparing them for bet- 
ter work in the more advanced classes. 
There are to-day many excellent Catholics 
who never would have attended Sunday- 
96 



The Kindergarten Department 97 

school had it not been for the attraction 
of the kindergarten over their infant lives. 
They came. They saw the truth. They 
learned to love it. They remained loyal to 
its command. 

How Many Classes Should There he in 
the Kindergarten? — An important ques- 
tion in regard to the kindergarten depart- 
ment is whether it should be conducted as 
one large class with one teacher, or should 
it be divided into several classes. The an- 
swer varies with circumstances; but gen- 
erally it is found best to separate these 
little ones into two classes, one for the 
boys and one for the girls. Excepting in 
very large schools, no further division is 
ordinarily made. 

Large Classes are Preferable. — There 
are many reasons why this is true : 

1. Skilled kindergarten teachers are 
rare. Few, indeed, are the persons en- 
dowed with sufficient natural ability to en- 
able them to teach very small children 
without any previous schooling in kinder- 
garten methods; and, as to kindergarten 
methods, few are sufficiently familiar with 
them to teach properly on their basis. 
The school that is fortunate enough to se- 
cure a trained kindergartner or a genius 



98 The Kindergarten Department 

in educating little children, should utilize 
his gifts to the utmost and place all chil- 
dren possible under his sole charge. 

2. The little ones must be kept moving. 
They are restless and full of animal vi- 
vacity. As soon as they become tired sit- 
ting, they must be moved about to relieve 
the nervous strain, and to regain their at- 
tention. To do this most advantageously 
they should be in one large room and under 
the care of one person who can direct all 
in unity. 

3. Each room should be fully equipped 
with lesson helps. These children are to 
be taught largely by object lessons; that 
is, by the aid of pictures, maps, charts, 
tables, blocks, and the like. A teacher can 
use these even more successfully with a 
large class than with a small one, and 
thereby lessen expense and increase ef- 
ficiency. 

Even in very large schools, great suc- 
cess has been achieved in kindergarten 
work by dividing the very young children 
into two classes and placing each in a large, 
well-equipped room under the charge of 
an efficient kindergarten teacher. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 

In This Department the Classes Should 
he Small. — After the children have grad- 
uated from the kindergarten, they require 
more personal attention. This can best 
be given where the classes are small. The 
teacher of a small class will generally se- 
cure a more regular attendance and will 
instruct each pupil more thoroughly. Be- 
ing a personal friend to each, he will teach 
as much by example as by word. 

Then, too, better order will be main- 
tained. When the little children first 
enter the kindergarten, they are awed by 
the novelty of the surroundings and full of 
curiosity. But after three or four years 
of experience in the school, they lose that 
feeling of restraint and at the same time 
become more self-willed and playful. Con- 
sequently they are less inclined to observe 
strict order. With these, small classes be- 
come a necessity. When the teacher has 
99 



100 The Primary Department 

each pupil under his eye and immediately 
before him, better discipline can be main- 
tained and more efficient work accom- 
plished. 

Each Pupil Should he Rightly Classified. 
— This requires keen discernment, accurate 
judgment, and absolute impartiality. 
While doing this, no respect of person and 
no consideration of social position or per- 
sonal attraction should be shown. Pupils 
of about the same age who are doing the 
same work and preparing for the same sac- 
raments should be placed in the same class. 
The children should be early taught the 
lesson of equality before God in all things 
save moral excellence, and that often those 
who are most despised by the world are 
greatest in His sight. 

The Classes Must be Separated One 
from Another. — In arranging the various 
classes, care must be taken not to place 
them so near together that they will dis- 
turb one another. It would be a great 
blessing if a separate class-room could be 
had for each. The teacher's efficiency for 
good would thereby be increased many 
fold. 

The Pupils Must be Induced to Attend 
Regularly. — The greatest possible care and 



The Primary Department 101 

effort should be given to secure a regular 
attendance in this department. It is abso* 
lutely necessary for success. 

The Pupils Must he Made to Learn Well 
the Lesson Assigned. — A short but definite 
lesson should be given at each session. 
Every child should memorize and learn 
this thoroughly before entering the class- 
room for recitation. This is most impor- 
tant. It should be insisted on at every 
session and in the case of every child. It 
should be demanded absolutely, and in 
some way secured, or else failure will re- 
sult. Especially is this true when the chil- 
dren are preparing for confession, for first 
holy communion, and for Confirmation. 



CHAPTEE XXI 

HOW TO KEEP THE OLDER BOYS IN SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL 

Our Sunday-School is not Succeeding in 
This. — There is one respect in which our 
Sunday-school is liable to fail, and, as a 
matter of fact, for some reason is failing 
in its mission. It is failing to keep the 
older boys under its instruction and influ- 
ence. 

The Result of This Failure is Fatal and 
Eternal. — At the present time nearly all 
our boys are leaving the Sunday-school at 
a comparatively young age. The greater 
number of them do not, even at the time 
of leaving, know the little catechism word 
for word; perhaps they have never mem- 
orized it. As to its doctrines, they have 
in their mind no clear outline of Catholic 
truth, and no definite idea of their moral 
obligations in life. In other words, they 
do not realize as Catholics what they are 
supposed to know, neither do they under- 
stand just what they must do in order to 
102 



Older Boys in Sunday-School 103 

be saved. Soon after leaving the Sun- 
day-school they become forgetful of relig- 
ion and negligent about its practice. 
Moreover, they leave just at the most crit- 
ical period of life, at the very time when 
they start forth into the world to mingle 
with every class and creed. It is then 
that home influence grows less, ties of com- 
panionship are strongest, love of pleasure 
is most intense, sinfulness is novel, vice is 
most alluring, and temptation strongest. 
These boys are then launched forth into 
the current of the world's pleasure and 
excitement. Falsehood arrayed in angelic 
vesture greets them at every turn. Unless 
their way is illumined by the light of truth 
and unless the grace of God sustains and 
guides them on, they will inevitably cast 
religion aside and abandon themselves to 
sin. When these boys, however, are kept 
faithful to the teachings of an efficient 
Sunday-school, instead of forgetting the 
doctrines of their holy religion, they learn 
to know and appreciate them better daily, 
and instead of being lured away from duty 
by sinful influence, they continue steadfast 
in the right, strong in manly virtue, and 
remain so even until that most trying 
period of life is past, until they have 



104 Bow to Keep the Older 

learned to know, to judge, and to value 
the world at its true worth, until their char- 
acter and habits are permanently formed, 
until they have grown into men — into 
Catholic men of the truest and noblest 
type. 

Again we are forced to assert, that at 
present the vast majority of the older boys 
are not kept in the Sunday-school. As a 
result, little by little they are being alien- 
ated from the Church, and are growing 
careless about prayer, Mass, and the sac- 
raments, as also about bad company and 
temptation, sin, and vice. Many of them, 
in fact, millions of them in the world to- 
day are drifting, perhaps unobservedly, 
yet surely, from the Church into ruin. 
Still these youths are to be the men of the 
future, the fathers of future generations. 
If they are lost to the Church and God, 
their children will share in their ruin and 
punishment. If they can be saved to the 
Church, however, much good will be ac- 
complished. For their influence will, di- 
rectly or indirectly, cause millions of 
others to live Catholic lives and gain salva- 
tion. Hence this neglect on the part of 
the Sunday-school, if perceived in its true 
light by those in charge and if voluntary, 



Boys in Sunday-School 105 

is criminal, and the blood of every soul 
which it causes to be lost will cry to 
Heaven for revenge against those who are 
responsible. 

It is Difficult to Secure the Return of 
Boys Who Have Left the Sunday-School. 
— There are so many attractions nowa- 
days in the form of baseball, football, 
games, amusements, and excursions, that 
it is no easy matter to keep even those 
older boys who still continue as members 
of the Sunday-school in regular attend- 
ance. After they have left this, however, 
and grown accustomed to having the en- 
tire afternoon for their own pleasure, it 
is far more difficult, and in some cases im- 
possible, to induce them to return. To 
effect this requires both reason and influ- 
ence, persuasion and tact. These older 
boys and especially their parents must be 
brought to realize and appreciate the ad- 
vantage and need of continued Sunday- 
school attendance. 

Most of These Older Boys Can be In- 
duced to Return. — A variety of means have 
been tried and found helpful in effecting 
this. Sometimes the boys of the parish 
are thoroughly organized into a society of 
their own. Special inducements are of- 



106 How to Keep the Older 

fered to get them into the society, and 
special attractions to keep them there. 
Then by reasoning, persuasion, and tact, 
they are influenced to return to the Sun- 
day-school and to attend regularly. A 
personal invitation or command will be 
effective with some, perhaps with many. 
The best means to be employed, however, 
will depend largely on individual cases and 
circumstances. 

How Are the Older Boys to he Kept in 
the Sunday -School? — The only way to 
maintain a large class of these older boys 
in the Sunday-school is to induce those 
who are still in attendance to remain, and 
at the same time, by all means possible, to 
persuade those who have left to return. 
To effect this, certain things must be done 
and certain inducements offered. 

1. Thoroughly competent teachers must 
be secured for them. These boys can not 
be induced to return, or even to remain in 
the Sunday-school unless there is placed 
in charge of their class a teacher pre-em- 
inently qualified, for whom they have the 
greatest respect, in whom they repose ab- 
solute confidence, and from whom they 
learn much that is pleasing and useful. 
The success of such a class ordinarily de- 



Boys in Sunday-School 107 

pends to a great extent on the teacher. 
His personality must tend to attract, re- 
tain, and transform the individual pupils. 
He must awaken their interest, encourage 
their efforts, foster a congenial friendship 
among them, and strive so to conduct the 
class that its members shall voluntarily, 
even gladly, be present. The teacher of 
such a class must have a strong and at- 
tractive character. He must be the master 
of the subject he would teach, possessed of 
marked ability for teaching, and embody 
in his own life the principles professed. 
His rule must be firm, by all means, 
yet kind; and his manner of teaching 
vivid, interesting, and fruitful. More than 
this, to be successful, he must under- 
stand these older boys, be in sympathy with 
them, be attached to them with an unsel- 
fish affection, and he must so make evident 
this kindly, generous interest that all will 
be convinced of its sincerity. 

2. Due respect must be shown to them. 
These older boys, almost grown to young 
men, are living in the world and familiar 
with popular current opinions. They have 
their own sentiments and ideas about many 
things. These should be discovered and 
respected. A teacher can often learn 



108 How to Keep the Older 

much that is prudent, wise, and helpful, 
by consulting the members of his class. 
We who are in charge sometimes fail to 
remember that these boys are approaching 
the age of maturity, and that concerning 
many things they are perhaps better in- 
formed and more up to date than we. An 
appeal to their knowledge as well as to 
their manly courage and generosity will 
sometimes result in much that is good and 
helpful. If you treat them as little chil- 
dren, they naturally resent it. On the 
other hand, it is by no means safe to follow 
their counsel and desire in all things. 
When something which directly affects 
their welfare is to be done, and when it is 
deemed advisable, their opinions should be 
heard and their wishes consulted. Then, 
after considering all things impartially, the 
teacher should do that which seems to be 
for the best; and it will not be difficult 
tactfully to convince the class that this 
course is wisest. Each idea, no matter 
from what source it may come, should be 
acknowledged at its true worth. The 
teacher stands before the class as an im- 
partial judge openly deciding between the 
value of his own opinions and those of his 
pupils. At times he may have to confess 



Boys in Sunday-School 109 

the superior knowledge and wisdom of 
others. Suppose he does! Eeally great 
men are too strong to conceal their own 
weakness. Proficient teachers acknowl- 
edge even their own limitations whenever 
occasion demands; and yet they remain 
none the less masters of their class, quietly, 
yet absolutely ruling all by the power of 
their will and intellect. 

3. They should be made useful. In as 
far as it is possible and of advantage, the 
older boys should be made to feel that they 
are helpers in the school and in a way re- 
sponsible for its success. Let them feel 
that their presence and example are appre- 
ciated as being beneficial to the school at 
large and encouraging to the director. 
The older members of such a class can be 
used in many ways ; as for secretary, work 
in the library, in the choir, at the service, 
or as ushers. Whenever they are assured 
that they are really of use and that their 
usefulness is appreciated, they seem 
pleased and glad to continue their assist- 
ance. 

4. They should receive instruction of 
real value. Many of these boys are at- 
tending secular schools where the best of 
teachers are employed, the most useful 



110 How to Keep the Older 

matter taught, the most approved systems 
followed, and orderly discipline main- 
tained. They enter the Sunday-school 
hall, however, and sometimes find that the 
teachers, the methods, and helps are mani- 
festly inferior. They mark this, as is only 
natural. The result is prejudicial to the 
Sunday-school. How can this be reme- 
died ? By furnishing them with a suitable 
room, well equipped, placing them in 
charge of an able teacher, trained and ef- 
ficient, who will devote both time and 
thought to his work, and giving them class 
matter which is manifestly of the greatest 
utility. This matter should be new, and 
not a mere repetition of previous work. 
Each year they desire and should have a 
new line of study, more thorough and com- 
prehensive in every way. A regular cur- 
riculum of studies should therefore be pro- 
vided, in which this special work for the 
advanced classes is adequately and ju- 
diciously outlined. 

5. Their questions should be heard and 
answered. These advanced pupils should 
be encouraged not only to pursue a per- 
sonal study of the various subjects, but 
also to seek, even in the class-room, a fuller 
explanation and knowledge. When ques- 



Boys in Sunday-School 111 

tions are asked in good faith, it is wrong 
for the teacher or director to become im- 
patient, and to return a cutting or insult- 
ing answer. This does great harm to the 
pupils. It lowers their estimation of the 
one who treats them thus, lessens their es- 
teem for the class, also their interest in the 
work, and sometimes it causes them to be- 
come disgusted and cease altogether from 
attendance. 

6. The instruction given them should be 
practical. These young people stand on 
the threshold of a future, great, unknown, 
and most interesting. Life with all its 
mysteries lies before them. They are 
eager to learn the bearing of truth on their 
daily duties. This is only right and rea- 
sonable. They care little as to the general 
and universal achievements of Christian- 
ity. What they most desire to know is its 
practical and personal application to busi- 
ness, to social relations, to pleasure, and 
to their own lives. If they are to be kept 
in the Sunday-school, it must be made to 
light up their future, to guide their way, 
and to assist them on to success, temporal 
and eternal. 

7. They must realize that the Sunday- 
school is not solely for little children. 



112 Older Boys in Sunday-School 

Classes of young men and older boys grow 
restless and decrease in number when they 
are constantly being addressed as "dear 
little children,' ' and forced to listen to 
baby talk Sunday after Sunday. In fact 
they should be made to feel that the Sun- 
day-school is maintained for them, even 
more than for those of the lower grades. 

Parents Must be Made to See That 
These Older Boys Attend. — After all, the 
priest or director can accomplish little in 
securing the attendance of these older boys 
unless he is seconded by the hearty and 
persistent co-operation of the parents. It 
is of supreme necessity, therefore, that the 
parents in some way be brought to realize 
the advantage and necessity of having their 
boys continue in Sunday-school; and also 
that they be influenced to leave nothing 
possible undone to secure their prompt and 
regular attendance. It is only when the 
parents are faithful in doing their part 
and when the Sunday-school itself in all 
its departments is properly organized, 
equipped, and conducted, that success cer- 
tain and complete is made sure. 



CHAPTER XXII 



Many Sunday-School Teachers Are In- 
competent. — It is to be regretted that a 
sufficient number of qualified teachers are 
not to be had by every Sunday-school. 
Generally the pastor or director is forced 
by necessity to secure for assisting in Sun- 
day-school work those parishioners who 
seem most competent and willing. These 
he places in charge of such classes as he 
deems them best qualified individually for 
teaching. The teachers willingly accept 
the task assigned, and perform it as best 
they can. The director superintends the 
entire school and does all in his power. 
The best conceivable use is made of the 
material at hand, but the inferiority of this 
material is often but too evident. Go into 
many of our Sunday-schools, especially 
where many classes are crowded into one 
room or hall; listen to the incessant hum, 
the Babylon of articulate sound; teachers 
113 



114 Sunday-School Teachers' Meetings 

can scarcely hear the voices of their pupils ; 
pupils only with greatest difficulty can 
make out what the teachers are saying. 
"While the lesson of one pupil is being 
heard, many if not all the other children 
of the class are inattentive, thinking of 
anything, and perhaps of almost every- 
thing except the instruction given. They 
are restless, playful, mischievous, and 
even unruly. Note the attitude; disorder 
reigns. Listen for a moment to the teach- 
er's explanation. Too often it is manifest 
that he has no mastery of the subject, does 
not understand it himself, and hence is 
unable to teach its truth to others. Ob- 
serve his methods. Practically he has 
none. From appearances, one would think 
he were convinced that his sole duty was to 
find out whether or not the pupils had mem- 
orized word for word the text of the cate- 
chism. If they have memorized the text, 
little good is accomplished by mere ques- 
tioning. If they have not done so, as very 
frequently happens, less is effected. The 
result is that, for by far the greater number 
of these pupils, almost the entire recita- 
tion hour is squandered, and compara- 
tively little is accomplished. Such a Sun- 
day-school is inefficient. It is in fact a 



Sunday-School Teachers' Meetings 115 

veritable farce. All this comes from vari- 
ous causes, and to be remedied requires 
a corresponding variety of improvements. 
Kooms better adapted and equipped 
for Sunday-school work must be sup- 
plied; the Sunday-school itself must be 
better organized and classified; and teach- 
ers, competent, educated, and trained for 
the work, must be secured. If this is not 
done, our children will not be properly 
educated in their religion, and as a result 
very many of them will not save their 
souls. This inefficiency, in as far as it can 
be done, must by all means be remedied; 
and the greatest possible number of these 
children who are now drifting downward 
into hell must be brought back and led 
into heaven. In most cases this can be 
done. Suitable rooms can ordinarily be 
furnished ; the school can be thoroughly or- 
ganized; and competent teachers, in- 
structed and trained, can generally in some 
way be secured. 

For Supplying Competent Teachers, 
Teachers' Meetings Are Almost a Neces- 
sity. — The teachers are qualified, at least 
in part, for their work by means of teach- 
ers' meetings, held whenever possible each 
week, and at a time when the greatest num- 



116 Sunday -School Teachers' Meetings 

ber of teachers find it convenient to attend. 
The good accomplished at these meetings 
is almost unlimited. 

1. They bring the teachers into social 
unity. Unquestionably, the teachers of a 
Sunday-school should become acquainted 
with one another as friends joined in har- 
monious unity for the accomplishment of a 
common work. Conferences should be 
held, methods considered, and experiences 
related. A teacher is stronger and more 
efficient for knowing better the difficulties 
encountered by others, as also the success 
achieved. An opportunity for this is af- 
forded by the weekly teachers' meetings. 
The pastor or director in charge of the 
school is at least present. The teachers 
sit about informally with note books. The 
meetings to be successful must be free from 
unnecessary restraint. After the opening 
prayer has been said, it often proves ad- 
vantageous to induce some of the most ex- 
perienced teachers to report on the condi- 
tion of their respective classes, and also 
to tell of new methods and achievements. 
Questions should be asked and informa- 
tion sought on points of difficulty or per- 
plexity. The pastor or one presiding re- 
ceives these reports, comments on them as 



Sunday -School Teachers' Meetings 117 

seems profitable, sees that the explanation 
desired is properly given, and that the 
questions asked are rightly answered. In 
this way, the meetings unite the teachers 
not only socially, bnt also intellectually 
and spiritually, and direct the endeavor of 
all to the accomplishment of one great 
work. 

2. These meetings foster and increase 
devotion. At their sessions, various pray- 
ers and devotional practices are discussed, 
as also the worthy reception of the sacra- 
ments. The teachers report as to what 
prayers their pupils actually say and as 
to what devotions they practise. Thus di- 
rector and teachers are brought to labor 
as one in the work of having the children 
learn the best prayers, say these regularly, 
practise the most approved devotions, and 
receive the sacraments often and worthily. 
This tends to unify the religious endeavor 
of the Sunday-school and to make it an 
irresistible power for effecting spiritual 
good. 

3. At these meetings, Sunday-school 
business can be transacted. The financial 
transactions of a Sunday-school are gen- 
erally rare and limited. Still there should 
be some, and at times it is well to bring 



118 Sunday-School Teachers' Meetings 

these before the teachers for considera- 
tion. This can easily and quickly be done 
at the meetings. 

4. They afford an opportunity for pre- 
paring class matter. A teacher to be ef- 
ficient in Sunday-school work must first 
understand the lesson to be taught, and 
then be familiar with the best methods of 
imparting this knowledge to others. How 
may this efficiency be secured? If the les- 
sons taught in the Sunday-school were so 
graded that on the same Sunday the same 
lesson or doctrine would be assigned by all 
the teachers to their respective classes, 
then at the weekly teachers' meetings this 
one subject, or doctrine, could be taken up 
by the director and teachers, carefully con- 
sidered and thoroughly explained. The 
best examples and stories for illustrating 
this could be given, and the best methods 
for teaching it discussed. At least the 
greater number of teachers, after being 
present at such a meeting and completing 
the study at home, would be fairly well 
qualified for the work of teaching on the 
following Sunday. 

Who Should Preside at These Meetings? 
— In many, if not most parishes the pastor 



Sunday-School Teachers' Meetings 119 

is able and willing to assume the office of 
Sunday-school director. Sometimes an as- 
sistant is assigned to this position, and 
occasionally a layman. Whether the di- 
rector be pastor, assistant, or layman, he 
should by all means be present at these 
teachers' meetings; and whether he pre- 
sides thereat or not, he should always be 
shown every mark of respect and atten- 
tion. As to presiding, however, it is found 
almost absolutely necessary to have one of 
the parish priests in charge, because it is 
most difficult for any person to conduct 
these meetings successfully and to secure 
a regular attendance unless he has pursued 
a special course both in theology and in 
the methods of teaching. 

The Chief Purpose of These Meetings 
is Method Study. — A teachers' meeting 
held merely to study the lesson will prove 
dull and comparatively fruitless. The one 
great endeavor should be to qualify the 
teachers not only for teaching but for 
teaching the exact lesson which has been 
assigned for the following Sunday. Va- 
rious methods are employed for accom- 
plishing this. The following has ordin- 
arily been found most successful. 



120 Sunday -School Teachers' Meetings 

Get the truth of the lesson, definite and 
clear cut. "What is the doctrine to be 
taught? 

Make such an analysis of the lesson as 
will cause its truth to appear before the 
mind as one comprehensive picture. 

Find out the lesson's great central truth, 
and then the relation which its other 
truths bear to this. 

Explain those difficulties which are 
most likely to arise in the pupil 's mind. 

Give a few of those illustrations or 
stories which will best picture forth the 
truths taught. 

If a blackboard is available for class 
work, show how this may best be used. 

Discuss the best methods for teaching 
the lesson, first in general, and then the 
particular methods which may be used to 
the best advantage in the various classes. 

Hoiv can the Success of These Meetings 
be Furthered? — If they are to prove suc- 
cessful, a friendly feeling must prevail, a 
Christian enthusiasm inspire, and order 
be preserved. They should not, however, 
be so formal that the work will be impeded 
by undue restraint; and, above all, they 
should not be dull but interesting. A 
glowing spirituality should prompt all; 



Sunday-School Teachers' Meetings 121 

and this should be maintained and guided 
by a thoroughly practical purpose. Let 
the Church of Christ and the truth it 
teaches be exalted. The question is, what 
has God said, and what truth does He 
wish to convey by His word. What must 
we do to be saved? The teachers must 
learn the true answer to this question 
and be able to bear it as a message of joy 
to their pupils on the following Sunday. 
Among those present at these meetings, 
no one should be unduly prominent. 
Some are eager to give expression to all 
their ideas and to answer every question. 
Others shrink from public notice and re- 
main silent. Both classes must be wisely 
and tactfully handled, the excessively ret- 
icent drawn out, and the excessively lo- 
quacious partially, yet politely silenced, 
the one encouraged, the other restrained. 
Then, too, there is generally present at 
least one or two cranks. A crank may be 
described as one who sees things out of 
their due proportion, and, consequently, 
while magnifying lesser things, minimizes 
greater ones. He is one whose ideas are 
distorted, and whose judgment is biased 
and erroneous. , If possible, he should be 
set aright. But if all efforts fail, as they 



122 Sunday -School Teachers 9 Meetings 

most likely will, then lie must be suppressed. 
Otherwise, he will divert the attention 
from the serious matter at hand, stir up 
opposition, and cause ill feeling, which 
may result in some remaining away from 
the meetings. All must be done cheer- 
fully yet earnestly, in unity and faith. 

From teachers' meetings, conducted in 
this manner and held weekly, inestimable 
good certainly comes both to the teacher 
and the child, to the Sunday-school and the 
parish. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE DUTIES OF THE HOME TO THE 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

The Home and the Sunday-School Must 
Labor as One. — Education to be true must 
be deeply religious. To educate the child 
rightly in his religion, the home must 
unite with the Church and work zealously 
with this under its direction and super- 
vision. Moreover, since, especially dur- 
ing the earlier years of life, the child 
spends most of his time in the home, is 
most continuously, directly, and person- 
ally under the care and guidance of his 
parents, most intimately associated with 
them, and most potently influenced by 
their word and example, it is only to be 
expected that in things natural the home 
should have the greatest efficiency in the 
molding and upbuilding of his character. 
The pastor, the director, and the teacher, 
on the other hand, see comparatively little 
of these children, are with them only for 
one brief hour or so each week, and even 
123 



124 The Duties of the Home 

during that time so great is the number of 
children and so numerous the duties to be 
performed that very little personal atten- 
tion can be given to any individual. The 
Sunday-school, in fact, can do little more 
than merely to encourage, direct, and 
complete the child's home education. 
Hence if the parents refuse or neglect to 
perform their duty in this, then only 
through special help received from on 
High can the Sunday-school avoid failure 
in its work of training the children aright. 

Each Has its Own Work to Perform. — 
If the child is to be rightly educated in 
his religion, certain results must be ef- 
fected. Prayers must be said by the 
child, Sunday-school lessons learned, Chris- 
tianity practised, the laws of morality 
observed, evil associates avoided, and 
only good habits formed. In the accom- 
plishment of this, both the home and the 
Church has its proper work to perform. 

What is to be Done by Each? — Even in 
regard to particular duties only a general 
answer can be given to this question. 

In Regard to Prayer. — It is the parents' 
sacred duty and sweet privilege to make 
the lives of their children prayerful. 
From a parent's lips and at a parent's 



To the Sunday-School 125 

knee, these little ones should learn to lisp 
their morning and evening prayers to 
God. Certain prayers should be said by 
every Catholic child in the morning and at 
night; others are for various occasions. 
The Sunday-school should tell the child 
what these are, and then, if necessary, even 
encourage and assist the child to learn 
and say them. The parents should see 
that as a matter of fact the children do 
learn these prayers and do say them regu- 
larly and devoutly. 

In Regard to Sunday-School Lessons. — 
The Sunday-school assigns the weekly les- 
sons, explains their truth, and then on the 
following Sunday finds out whether or not 
the children have memorized these and 
learned them thoroughly. The work of 
the parents is to see that as a matter of 
fact the children memorize these lessons 
word for word, and also understand, in as 
far as they are capable, the doctrinal 
truth found therein. 

In Regard to the Practice of Religion. — 
The Sunday-school must instruct each 
child, not only in the practice of prayer, 
but also as to how and when he is to assist 
at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, receive 
the sacraments, and attend devotions. 



126 The Duties of the Home 

The parents must see that the children ac- 
tually follow these instructions regularly 
and religiously. 

In Regard to Christian Morality. — The 
Sunday-school must instruct each child 
thoroughly in the principles of Christian 
morality, and must so assist each one that 
he will form definite and clear ideas as to 
precisely what is right and what is wrong, 
and that he will know even the specific 
malice of those sins which he is most li- 
able to commit. The parents must find 
out whether or not their children really 
understand this, and must help them to 
form sensitive, yet true consciences. 

In Regard to Companionship. — The 
Sunday-school must explain to each child 
the sinfulness and peril of associating 
with evil companions, as also the duty and 
advantage of going with those who are 
virtuous and Catholic. The parents must 
vigilantly guard their children from evil 
influence, and continue so to guide and en- 
courage them that their companions will 
be the best possible, at least, morally and 
religiously. 

In Regard to Habits. — The Sunday- 
school must do all in its power to have the 



To the Sunday-School 127 

child avoid bad habits and form good 
ones. The parents must leave nothing 
possible undone to save their children from 
every vice. This is an all-important duty. 
A child can be saved from the formation 
of bad habits, but after these habits are 
once formed, it is most difficult, and at 
times seemingly impossible, to rescue him 
from their slavery and make him victori- 
ous over their thraldom. 

No Definite Line of Demarcation Can 
be Drawn Between the Duties of the Par- 
ents and Those of the Sunday-School. — 
In effecting the religious education of the 
child, certain work is to be done. For 
the accomplishment of this, the home and 
the Church are laboring together. Some- 
times so zealously do the parents assist in 
the performance of this duty that little re- 
mains to be done by the Church except to 
complete the instruction given at home, to 
conduct the religious exercises, and to ad- 
minister the sacraments. Occasionally, 
however, the parents are so negligent 
about religion and the children so care- 
less, that practically everything depends 
on the Church. In this case the Church 
may labor as best it can, but still it 



128 Home and Sunday -School 

will fail in many things, simply because 
it has not received that assistance which is 
necessary for complete success, the co- 
operative help of parents and home. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARY 

The Advantages of a Sunday -School Li- 
brary Are Many. — In these days of im- 
proved methods, a complete Sunday- 
school outfit includes some things which 
are not absolutely required and which 
many schools can not really afford. 
Others things, however, are included 
which are most desirable, even necessary, 
and which can be had by nearly every 
school. Such is the Catholic library. If 
there exists any Sunday-school without a 
Catholic library, it is, generally speak- 
ing, either because the helpfulness, in 
fact, the necessity of this is not realized, or 
else because those in charge are unwilling 
to undergo the inconvenience which the 
effort required for procuring and caring 
for this demands. The advantages de- 
rived from having a Catholic library at- 
tached to the Sunday-school are many. 
Only a few will be mentioned. 
129 



130 The Sunday-School Library 

1. It acts as an incentive and reward 
for Sunday-school attendance and thus in- 
creases the number of those who attend 
regularly. 

2. It keeps alive in the homes an active 
interest in the Sunday-school. In many 
homes, these books are prized as the chief 
reading obtainable, and are eagerly read 
not only by the children, but also by the 
older members of the family. 

3. It carries the influence of the Sun- 
day-school into the home. In a great 
many homes there are some who are care- 
less about their lives. By reading these 
interesting and practically religious books, 
they are gradually, sometimes quickly, 
aroused to a realization of their duties 
and led back to a better life. In many 
other homes, there are some who either 
have fallen away from their Church, or 
else are not of our Faith. These attend 
no Church and really know or hear little 
of God or of the future life. Still they 
are fond of reading and anxious to learn; 
that is, if they can do so by themselves 
and unobserved. These are brought into 
the Church, or back to the practice of 
their religion, by the reading of Catholic 
books. Perhaps in no other way could 



The Sunday-School Library 131 

this have been effected. Thousands are 
saved by the reading of Catholic litera- 
ture, and millions are led quietly but 
surely onward to a better life. There is, 
in fact, no influence in the secular world 
to-day mightier than that of the press. 
There should be no mightier human influ- 
ence in the Church than that of Catholic 
literature. One means of increasing this 
world-wide power for good, and thus of 
increasing the efficiency of the Sunday- 
school, is to have a well-supplied and up- 
to-date Catholic library to which all the 
members of the Sunday-school have free 
and easy access. 

The Sunday-School Library is a Neces- 
sity. — These and numerous other advan- 
tages make the Sunday-school library not 
only a luxury and help, but a necessity. 
The library is a necessary, an essentially 
necessary part of a, complete Sunday- 
school. If it is not had, much good will be 
left undone. Some will never be brought 
under the saving influence of the Church, 
many will grow up with weak faith and in- 
firm virtue, many will drift away and be 
lost. The one who realizes that these 
evils are caused by a want of Catholic lit- 
erature in the home, and who can remedy 



132 The Sunday-School Library 

them and thus save many souls, but who 
refuses or neglects to do so, and thus 
stands idly by while these abandoned 
ones are drifting perhaps unconsciously 
downward into eternal ruin, has just 
reason to tremble for his own salvation. 
As he treats others, God may treat him. 
It is just as necessary to have the Word 
of God preached in the home by means of 
Catholic literature, as it is to have it 
preached from the pulpit, and often it is 
far more effective for good. 

The Library Should be Catholic. — 
Sometimes books are placed in Sunday- 
school libraries, which although instruc- 
tive, classical, and of high-toned intellec- 
tuality, have practically nothing to do with 
Christianity. Some have said, the pur- 
pose of such a library is to supply reading 
throughout the week, to elevate and edu- 
cate intellectually as well as religiously. 
The Sunday-school, however, is a distinctly 
religious institution, and includes secular 
education only in so far as this appertains 
to the religious world. Hence to place in 
the Sunday-school library books that have 
no reference to God or to life-everlasting 
is to dissipate the influence of the school 
and divert its efforts from the true pur- 



The Sunday-School Library 133 

pose. In the Sunday- school library, 
therefore, only such books should be 
found as are helpful to the Christian life. 
Even the Bible, however, contains under 
one cover literature of many kinds, sci- 
ence, history, biography, poetry, philoso- 
phy, and theology, all of which throw 
light on the relation of God to man and 
the duties of man to his God; so also the 
Sunday-school library may have on its 
shelves books of all the various kinds of 
literature, and still every one of its books 
should be such as will tend directly to the 
upbuilding of the religious life. The sci- 
ence of its books should be true science, 
revealing God's creation to the mental 
gaze; the history should be true history, 
telling of how man served his God; and 
the fiction should be Christian in tone, pic- 
turing forth lives and ideals truthful and 
Catholic. In a word, all of its books 
should be Catholic in the truest and no- 
blest meaning of that word. Everything 
narrow, bigoted, degrading, immoral, or 
tending in any way to lower life and its 
ideals, should be kept out of it, or if found 
therein, consigned at once to the flames. 

If any persons should desire literature 
of a strictly secular nature, they may se- 



134 The Sunday-School Library 

cure this from the public library or from 
some other source. 

The Library Books Should be Well Se- 
lected. — It would be most advantageous if 
these books could be read by some member 
of a judicious committee before being pur- 
chased. This would be the surest meth- 
od, but one very often impossible. At 
least, the books should be purchased from 
publishers who know their books and can 
be trusted to furnish only those which are 
suitable. The imprint of certain religious 
houses is generally sufficient guarantee 
that the book is Catholic and desirable. 

How Are These Books to be Secured? — 
After a suitable library has become estab- 
lished in the Sunday-school and the people 
have begun to realize its usefulness and 
necessity, little effort is required for its 
maintenance. Securing the books is the 
most difficult part of the work; but this is 
far easier than may appear. They may 
be received as a personal donation, or pur- 
chased from the proceeds of an entertain- 
ment or special collection. In one parish 
they were secured by the men's society; 
in another, through the efforts of all the 
sodalities united. A third parish took ad- 
vantage of the admirable plan outlined by 
Benziger Brothers. The older children of 



The Sunday-School Library 135 

the Sunday-school were organized into 
Eeading Clubs. Ten cents was paid 
monthly by each member. Having col- 
lected the first dues, each Club forwarded 
one dollar as the first payment for a num- 
ber of selected standard Catholic books, 
and received at once a library which was 
put into immediate circulation. During a 
single year, these were all paid for from 
the funds thus raised. The older and bet- 
ter established parishes find it more con- 
venient and satisfactory to pay for these 
books with money from the Church treas- 
ury. Our people, when rightly instructed 
and made to realize the vast and eternal 
good which the library brings to them- 
selves and to their children, do not object 
to this. For seldom or never are they nig- 
gardly when convinced that a worthy cause 
solicits their support. 

Who Should be Appointed Librarian? 
— To secure a competent and desirable li- 
brarian is not always easy. It is, how- 
ever, suicidal to the success of the library 
to place in charge of it one who is merely 
able to pass out the books called for, to 
receive those returned, and to keep a rec- 
ord of all. The person selected for libra- 
rian should be an intelligent, practical 
Catholic, who is so familiar both with the 



136 The Sunday-School Library 

library and the individual members of the 
Sunday-school as to be able to tell unhesi- 
tatingly which book is best for each. 

The Librarian Has Many Duties. — Only 
the more important will be considered. 

1. He should value his work. He 
should love books and, appreciating the 
almost unlimited power of a large and 
well-selected Catholic library, earnestly en- 
deavor by all means possible to increase its 
Christianizing influence over the Sunday- 
school, the parish, and the community. 

2. He should make the library as use- 
ful as possible. This can not be done with- 
out a good catalogue, wherein is found in 
summary form the name, the character, 
and the cost of each book, Aided by 
this, as also by his own personal knowl- 
edge and experience, he should endeavor 
to guide the taste and selection of the 
several pupils. In this, as also in the 
work of fostering in the Sunday-school a 
true love for Catholic literature, he should 
be zealously assisted by the teachers. 

3. A simple yet systematic record 
must be kept of all books taken out, from 
which it will be clearly manifest who has 
each book and how long he has had this 
in his possession. The return of these 
books must also be recorded. While the 



The Sunday-School Library 137 

books remain uncalled for, tie must keep 
them classified and in order. 

A Reference Library for Teachers is 
Often Useful. — A small school may not 
need this. Some, even of the larger ones, 
can not afford it. Still, especially for 
these, it is most desirable, because it 
serves to render the teachers more effi- 
cient and the Sunday-school more success- 
ful. One such library wrought untold 
good. It was placed in one of the class- 
rooms easily accessible at all times to the 
teachers. It contained many of the best 
reference books on the catechism and 
also hand-books on Christian doctrine, 
pamphlets on Sunday-school methods, 
treatises on teaching, and the like. It 
was greatly prized and much used by the 
teachers, for they realized the need of this 
help, which could not otherwise be secured. 
From it they learned the best explanations 
of Christian doctrine, became familiar 
with the best examples and stories used to 
illustrate these, as also with the latest ap- 
proved methods of successful teaching, 
and the Sunday-school reaped therefrom a 
rich advantage. 



CHAPTER XXV 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL SUPPLIES 

Many Supplies Are Needed. — Conve- 
nient rooms, suitable text-books, and a well- 
selected Catholic library by no means 
comprise the entire outfit necessary for 
a successfully conducted Sunday-school. 
Ever more apparent is becoming the real 
usefulness of modern helps. These are 
now to be found in abundance. Some are 
of great value, even essentially necessary 
for complete success. Others are helpful, 
but by no means indispensable. No Sun- 
day-school which has suitable quarters, ef- 
ficient teachers, standard text-books, con- 
venient blackboards, a well-stocked li- 
brary and up-to-date Sunday-school pa- 
pers, should feel that it is not supplied 
with an outfit sufficient for successful 
work. 

The Blackboard is an Indispensable 
Help. — This can be used most efficiently 
by a skilful teacher, and even one not ex- 
138 



Sunday-School Supplies 139 

pert with the crayon can emphasize the 
lesson on the board as in no other way. 
Blackboards can be secured at a reason- 
able price in all styles and sizes. Many 
prefer one mounted in such a way that it 
can be swung around so as to show the re- 
verse side. Others find those made from 
linoleum to be sufficiently serviceable. 
Colored crayons are often found both con- 
venient and helpful, especially for map 
drawing, reviews, and the like. 

Sunday-School Papers Are a Necessity. 
— These are as desirable and essentially 
necessary as the library itself. For the 
younger children they are even more so. 
These little ones are unable to appreciate, 
or in fact to read, a library book, and of- 
ten would do little with it except to injure 
and destroy it. A library that was al- 
lowed to pass through their hands would 
soon become worthless. But an attractive 
and interesting paper which is at the same 
time rational and Catholic is admirably 
adapted to their needs. Such papers 
neatly printed and fully illustrated can 
now be secured at a small, at a compara- 
tively inconsiderable, cost. For the more 
advanced pupils, a more advanced paper 
could be supplied, although this is often 



140 Sunday -School Supplies 

unnecessary. Even the teachers, especially 
when they have no access to a reference 
library, could, with profit to themselves 
and to the entire school, be furnished 
with some publication which would aid 
them in the preparation of their work. 
To supply these various papers will, it 
is true, entail some expense; but this 
can be met in various ways, and even if 
it has to be paid from the church trea- 
sury, it is as essentially necessary as are 
the other church expenditures, and the 
money thus paid out will be refunded with 
a manifold increase both by the children 
and by their parents. It is generally 
found that these papers are read more or 
less thoroughly by nearly all the persons 
living in the home. Hence they serve to 
give a Catholic tone of mind and thought 
to the entire parish. 

Maps Are Very Helpful. — They may be 
used with advantage in nearly all classes. 
For those in Bible and Church History 
they are of great importance. It is, in 
fact, impossible to teach these subjects 
without their use. Those maps which are, 
or should be, found in every text-book of 
Bible and Church History are not only 
helpful but in many cases sufficient. Still 



Sunday-School Supplies 141 

it is often found very convenient and ad- 
vantageous to have before the eyes of the 
entire class large maps to which reference 
can frequently be made. Among those 
maps which are most useful should be men- 
tioned that of the Bible lands, of Egypt 
and Sinai, of Palestine in the time of the 
Judges as also in the time of Christ, that 
of the world in Apostolic days, in the Mid- 
dle Ages, and of the present time. When- 
ever it is found impossible or even difficult 
to purchase these, they may be prepared 
by the director or by some of the teachers 
from outline maps filled in as accurately 
and neatly as possible in various colors. 
Religious Pictures Are Useful. — These 
are by no means essentially necessary; 
still they often prove most helpful. One 
seldom overestimates the truth which 
these instil into the minds of children and 
the influence for good which they exert 
over the hearts of the young. It would be 
well in fact if in every class-room some of 
these pictures were hung so that they 
might be clearly seen by every child. 
Nothing in this line is more easily secured 
and at the same time more suitable than 
highly-colored lithographs of scenes taken 
from the Bible, from the life of Christ, or 



142 Sunday-School Supplies 

the history of the Church. Besides these 
large pictures, much good is often effected 
by means of smaller cards of similar sub- 
jects, given to the individual members of 
the class. On the reverse side of these is 
sometimes printed explanation and in- 
struction adapted both to interest and to 
educate. From the Sunday-school these 
are taken into the home, and certainly 
they must exert a Catholic influence over 
its every member. A little picture in the 
hand of a child will sometimes change a 
human heart more effectively than even 
the most eloquent of sermons. 

A Mimeograph or Printing Press May 
Sometimes be Useful. — For some Sunday- 
schools a mimeograph or small printing 
press is used in preparing programs, tick- 
ets, review questions, music specially com- 
posed, and the like. 

The Stereopticon Has Been Used with 
Advantage. — Some of our best Sunday- 
schools are now using with gratifying re- 
sults the stereopticon. Slides are spe- 
cially prepared, or purchased, or rented for 
the occasion. These present scenes con- 
nected with the Bible, with the life of 
Christ and His apostles, and with the his- 
tory of the Church during the various 



Sunday -School Supplies 143 

ages. The stereopticon, however, is com- 
paratively expensive, and hence it may be 
that only the larger and stronger schools 
can afford to have it. 

A Museum is Sometimes Had. — More 
than one of our Sunday-schools is pos- 
sessed of a museum wherein is found a 
choice collection of religious pictures, rel- 
ics, specimens, and curiosities. These 
prove very useful at times in explaining 
Bible and Church History, and even 
Christian doctrine. In one such museum 
is found beautiful pictures illustrating 
stories and incidents of the Bible and 
Church history, many possessions of the 
world's most sainted ones, a model of the 
Temple of Solomon, many models of Ori- 
ental houses, hand mills, plows, garments, 
and other similar things, albums of dried 
and pressed plants from the Holy Land, 
grains and seeds such as are mentioned in 
the Holy Scriptures, and numerous other 
articles of similar interest. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL REWARDS 

Rewards of Merit Are Desirable. — In 
all systems of educating the young, It has 
been found desirable to devise some means 
by which the pupils may be stimulated to 
do their best work. No stimulus is bet- 
ter, it is true, and more to be desired than 
a proper appreciation of the benefits de- 
rived from true education ; but an appreci- 
ation such as this comes only with years 
and with education itself. It has little in- 
fluence during the earlier years of life; 
and hence at this time other forms of en- 
couragement, such as rewards, are more 
effective in eliciting the child's best effort. 

The Prevailing Method of Reward is 
Twofold. — The most successful of our 
schools employ two methods of reward: 
the one offers pecuniary inducements, as 
scholarships, prizes, and the like; the 
other appeals to the pupil's sense of self- 
144 



Sunday-School Rewards 145 

respect by offering credit marks, honors, 
and promotion. With many, the first 
method is more successful ; with some, the 
second. Both of these methods have long 
been employed with success by the secular 
schools. They are now being used exten- 
sively in the Sunday-school, and their ef- 
fectiveness is appreciated and acknowl- 
edged by all. 

For What Should Rewards he Given? 
— This will depend largely on the condi- 
tion of affairs in the Sunday-school, on the 
character of the pupils who attend, and on 
the particular result which the director is 
striving to effect. A few worthy causes 
of reward will be mentioned. These may 
serve to suggest others. 

Regularity and Promptness of Attend- 
ance. — These ought certainly to be en- 
couraged; and seldom is encouragement 
wanting, for generally they are first to re- 
ceive merited reward. The reason of this 
is, no doubt, because they are so notice- 
able and effect so vitally the apparent 
prosperity of the school. Some schools 
reward good attendance monthly, others 
weekly, by giving some little present, as a 
picture card or Sunday-school paper, to 
those, and only to those, who are not ab- 



146 Sunday-School Rewards 

sent or tardy. This latter method gener- 
ally proves most satisfactory. 

Well-learned Lessons. — The children 
should be encouraged by every means pos- 
sible to learn their lessons well, and when 
they have been faithful in this, they should 
be recognized as worthy of commendation 
and reward. As to the particular reward 
which should be given, much will depend on 
circumstances. Among the treasures of 
one who was in Sunday-school over fifty 
years ago is a certificate neatly framed, 
specifying that he had committed to mem- 
ory and recited accurately the entire cat- 
echism. "What child would not labor to 
win and ever afterward be proud of such a 
certificate? In our Sunday-schools of to- 
day beautiful certificates issued for relig- 
ious accomplishments are all too rare. 

Bringing New Pupils into the Sunday- 
School. — There are in every parish at 
least some children whom it is very diffi- 
cult for the Sunday-school director to 
meet personally and to induce to attend 
instruction. What he is unable to effect 
can perhaps be done by some small child. 
Why should such available help remain as 
if despised? To these little ones, even as 
to others, was given the command to go 



Sunday-School Rewards 147 

into the highways and byways and to 
bring in strangers to the Gospel feast. 
To be taught and trained to do this will- 
ingly and effectively is an essential part 
of the child's religious education. In the 
hearts of the young should be developed a 
love for helping others on to salvation. 
The Sunday-school should train its mem- 
bers to go forth and by their influence to 
win others to a better life. If they are 
not educated to do this in childhood, they 
will not be disposed to do it in later years. 
Then, too, in the Sunday-school, as in 
other organizations, the co-operation of 
every member is needed to bring complete 
success. Every child of the parish must 
be influenced by some means to attend 
Sunday-school regularly. Whenever a 
child is found to assist in this work, he 
deserves recognition and reward. His 
zeal in these missionary efforts should be 
fostered, guided, and rewarded, judi- 
ciously and wisely, according to conditions 
and persons. 

Which Gifts and Honors Are Most Suit- 
able for Rewards? — Among the pecuniary 
rewards, those are most desirable which 
are of a religious nature ; such as a Cath- 
olic book or magazine, a prayer-book or 



148 Sunday-School Rewards 

beautiful rosary, a gold cross or pin. The 
one who presents these, however, must be 
both judicious and tactful, or else he will 
cause more harm than good. Among 
those honors which appeal to the sense of 
self-respect, and which are best fitted for 
awakening a healthy spirit of emulation 
and a desire to do better things, several 
have been bestowed. A roll of honor 
made out and read or placed on the bulle- 
tin board of the Sunday-school, or in the 
vestibule of the church where it could be 
seen by all, has in many cases incited both 
child and parent to do better work. Cer- 
tificates issued for excellence in work have 
proven most effective and ought to be 
more widely introduced. Sometimes a 
book specially labeled has been placed in 
the library, or a picture specially marked 
hung on the wall, to commemorate the ex- 
cellent work done by some" class, or by 
one of its members. A memorial given 
by the Sunday-school, in evidence of 
its pleasure at the excellence of a cer- 
tain schoolmate, is generally greatly 
prized. Some assert that nothing is more 
likely to gratify a class or individual 
and to stimulate others to do their best 
than a memorial which will remain in 



Sunday-School Rewards 149 

future years as a witness of special 
effort and success. All this, however, is 
said chiefly for the sake of suggestion. 
For after all, the exact reward which is 
best for the individual pupil must be deter- 
mined in each case by the one in charge 
according to persons, conditions, and cir- 
cumstances. Even before giving any re- 
ward at all, the pastor or director should 
know with certainty that its bestowal will 
promote the general good of the Sunday- 
school. Otherwise it should be withheld, 
lest it might prove useless, or even detri- 
mental and injurious. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL HALL ARCHITECTURE 

It Is of Various Styles and Generally 
Defective. — In the matter of architecture, 
the Sunday-school is generally obliged to 
accept what it can get. Comparatively 
few are the parishes that have a suitably 
planned and adequately equipped Sunday- 
school hall. Where a parochial school is 
had, the Sunday-school is generally held 
in its class-rooms, with each grade almost, 
if not quite, separated from the others. 
Some churches have a Sunday-school hall 
with one or more side rooms partitioned 
off and opening into it. Still the main 
body of the Sunday-school members are 
forced to remain in the one hall for instruc- 
tions. Other churches have a Sunday- 
school hall without any side rooms. This 
is generally a large barn-shaped room, 
poorly lighted, ill-ventilated, and fur- 
nished with few if any of the modern con- 
veniences. Here the children are crowded 
150 



Sunday-School Hall Architecture 151 

together and sit huddled about in classes. 
It is unnecessary to describe, to one who 
has visited such a Sunday-school, the scene 
of confusion and disorder, the din of talk 
and laughter, there witnessed, and it is 
needless to declare that fully two-thirds 
of the energy expended by the teachers, 
and more than two-thirds of the children's 
time, is absolutely wasted; also that these 
children are not well instructed in their 
religion, and, as a result, that scores of 
them in almost every parish whose Sun- 
day-school is thus conducted, and hun- 
dreds of them from the larger Sunday- 
schools of this sort, drift away from the 
Church and are in all probability lost for- 
ever to Christ. This, however, in some 
few cases can not be remedied; money is 
wanting, or other necessities are not at 
hand. Often the church itself is used as a 
Sunday-school hall. In other places there 
is not even a church, and Sunday-school 
has to be held in a public hall, or at the 
home of some parishioner. 

The Sunday-School Class Should be 
Together and yet Separated. — This result 
has, been effected by having a common 
meeting-place for the opening and closing 
exercises, with separate rooms for the in- 



152 Sunday-School Hall Architecture 

dividual class-work. These are some- 
times so built as to open into the main 
audience hall, but with doors easily closed 
so that the recitation can be carried on 
without interruption. Several of the 
churches which were able to do so have 
provided for their Sunday-schools in this 
way. 

The Sunday-School Boom Should be 
Suitably Furnished. — Its furniture should 
be convenient and agreeable, yet plain and 
durable. If the seats or desks are un- 
sightly or uncomfortable, the children will 
pay little heed to the recitation and will 
feel inclined to remain away rather than 
submit to such inflicted suffering. 

In a word, both the hall and the several 
rooms should be so planned, built, and 
equipped as to render the Sunday-school 
as effective as possible in its work of edu- 
cating the young in their religion. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

BRANCH SUNDAY-SCHOOLS 

Branch Sunday -Schools are Desirable. 
— The Sunday-school, being an essential 
part of the organized Church, should be 
found in all parts of the Catholic world. 
Every home, in fact, should be organized, 
as it were, into a school where the reli- 
gion of Christ is systematically studied 
and practised. It should be as a home 
department of the Church where the les- 
sons assigned at the Sunday-school are 
memorized, learned, and embodied into 
every-day life. Then, on Sunday all the 
pupils of these several homes should meet 
for a general session, with lessons thor- 
oughly mastered. When this is done, the 
Home and the Church can truthfully be 
said to labor as one in Sunday-school 
work. 

Home Department Schools Are Some- 
times Necessary. — In some cases, the fam- 
ilies live so far away from the church that 
153 



154 Branch Sunday-Schools 

it is practically impossible for the children 
to attend Sunday-school, or perhaps even 
Mass, except on rare occasions. Unless 
there is organized in these homes a school 
of Christian doctrine, wherein religious 
instruction is imparted, the children 
thereof will grow up ignorant of Christian- 
ity and indifferent to its precepts. Or- 
dinarily, it is not difficult for the pastor or 
the one whom he has placed in charge of 
the Sunday-school to visit these homes 
now and then, or at least to meet the par- 
ents and secure their co-operation, to out- 
line a systematic course of study for the 
children, to see that this is properly given, 
to supplement this home teaching, and 
when the opportune time arrives to man- 
age in some way, if it is possible, to have 
these pupils come to the church Sunday- 
school for special instructions in prepara- 
tion for receiving the sacraments. In this 
way, the children far removed from the 
church are taught their holy religion and 
trained in its practice. 

Branch Schools Are in Some Places 
Necessary. — What has been said of homes 
far distant from the church, is equally 
true when applied to hamlets and neigh- 



Branch Sunday-Schools 155 

borhoods similarly located. The children 
living in these remote places can not be 
saved to Christ and His Church unless 
they are sufficiently instructed in their re- 
ligion. Hence sometimes, owing to un- 
favorable home conditions, it is found nec- 
essary to organize and maintain a branch 
Sunday-school, where these children may 
meet at regularly appointed times and re- 
ceive a complete course of religious in- 
struction. Into this school, all the pupils 
are gathered. Sometimes it will be pos- 
sible for the pastor himself to be present 
and conduct its recitations. But often he 
may have to leave this to another whom 
he deems qualified and competent. There 
are some churches, situated in the midst 
of large agricultural districts, which have 
several of these branch schools, all pros- 
pering under the supervision of zealous 
pastors and all accomplishing great and 
lasting good. By them, many children 
who otherwise, with all their descendants, 
would drift away from the Church into in- 
fidelity, are being trained up with their 
parents into practical Church members. 
In fact, it is often the neglect of missionary 
activity such as this that causes the influ- 



156 Branch Sunday -Schools 

ence of the Church to decline in rural dis- 
tricts, its membership gradually to de- 
crease, and many souls to be lost. 

Children Living Far from the Church 
May Require Special Classes Instructed at 
Special Times. — The children who live in 
country parishes may generally be divided 
into two classes, those living in town, or 
comparatively near the church, and those 
living in the country, or far removed from 
it. Those of the former class can attend 
Sunday-school at almost any time during 
the morning or afternoon. This, how- 
ever, is not often true of those who live 
perhaps miles away from the church. It 
is seldom easy for such to get back and 
forth. It generally necessitates a long 
walk or else the harnessing and driving of 
horses which in many cases are already 
tired and overworked. In the summer 
the heat is sometimes insufferable; in the 
winter the snow often makes the roads im- 
passable, as also does the mud in the 
spring and fall. Consequently, these chil- 
dren are very liable to be neglected. The 
home department work and the branch 
Sunday-school can accomplish much. 
Still, they can not do all that is desirable. 
They assist the Church, but are far infe- 



Branch Sunday-Schools 157 

rior to it in efficiency. Hence, in as far as 
it is possible these children must be in- 
duced to attend the Church Sunday-school. 
In some parishes this is accomplished by 
organizing a special class, or several if 
necessary, to be heard and instructed im- 
mediately before or after the morning 
Mass. This makes attendance at Sunday- 
school possible for these children, and ren- 
ders the second trip to the church unnec- 
essary. Then, too, their presence at 
these short but carefully prepared recita- 
tions in Christian doctrine results in their 
more regular attendance at Mass. Ee- 
wards can be given at this special session, 
papers and books distributed, and all else 
done which is deemed necessary or de- 
sirable. 

Each Pastor Must Make Arrangements 
for His Own Sunday-School. — The exact 
place, time, and manner of imparting 
religious instruction and training to the 
children can not by any means be deter- 
mined definitely for all cases. This must 
be decided by the individual pastor after 
seriously taking into consideration the 
needs and conditions of his parish. His 
one great aim, however, must be to edu- 
cate each child in the truth and practice 



158 Branch Sunday-Schools 

of Christianity, and to make him more and 
more like unto "another Christ.' ' To ef- 
fect this, he must use those means, employ 
those methods, and appoint that time and 
place which he considers best under the 
existing circumstances. 



CHAPTEE XXIX 

THE CATHOLIC SUNDAY-SCHOOL. AND NON- 
CATHOLIC CHILDREN 

Non-Catholic Children Ought to Attend 
the Catholic Sunday-School. — Christ es- 
tablished one Church, which history and 
revelation conclusively show to have been 
the Catholic Church. He commissioned 
this to go forth and teach the Gospel to all 
mankind, irrespective of nationality or re- 
ligious profession. It is, therefore, the 
bounden duty of the Catholic Church to 
endeavor as best it can to lead into its fold 
every man, woman, and child living on 
earth, and to do this not merely for the 
sake of bringing them into the Church, 
and thereby increasing its membership, 
but rather for the sake of teaching them 
the clearly revealed truth of Christ, of in- 
fluencing them to do His holy "Will and 
thereby to gain for themselves the enjoy- 
ment of heaven's eternal bliss. 

Non-Catholic children ought to save 
their souls. They can succeed in this only 
159 



160 The Catholic Sunday-School 

by doing what Christ has commanded. 
They can not obey Christ, however, unless 
they first know His truth and command- 
ments. These are best explained and 
taught in the Catholic Sunday-school. 
Hence those who would most surely be 
saved, including of course non-Catholic 
children, ought to attend this Sunday- 
school and learn with certainty what they 
must do in order to obtain heaven. 

These children ought not to be aban- 
doned, as they too often are. Christ died 
for them as truly as He did for the chil- 
dren of Catholics; and established His 
Church for their salvation, even as for 
ours. He has commissioned His Church 
to preach the Gospel to them, "baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The 
bishops, priests, religious, and members of 
His Church, therefore, are bound in char- 
ity to do what they can to induce these 
little ones to believe, to be baptized, and to 
be saved. 

How Should We Regard Non-Catholics? 
— In dealing with non-Catholics, we 
should ever bear in mind that Christ, as 
their personal Friend and divine Eedeem- 
er, has invited them, the children of His 



And Non-Catholic Children 161 

Father, to accept the means of salvation 
which He offers. More than this, lest 
they might decline to accept His invita- 
tion, and as a consequence remain in the 
perilous state of ignorance, He has com- 
manded them, under the pain of mortal 
sin, to become practical members of His 
Church. Many, it is true, are continuing 
to disobey Christ in this. They are per- 
severing in their refusal to enter the true 
fold. This deplorable fact, however, is, 
generally speaking, due not so much to 
sinful and obstinate disobedience as to the 
want of a certain conviction that this is 
really the will and command of God. 
Hence, in matters religious, we should re- 
gard non-Catholics as persons unfortu- 
nately misguided, but nevertheless earn- 
estly sincere in their desire to learn the 
truth and to follow it. 

How Are We to Deal with Non-Catho- 
lics? — Since it is only right and just to re- 
gard those outside the Church as truly sin- 
cere in their religious belief, at least until 
the contrary is clearly evident, in all relig- 
ious dealings our one great effort should 
be to lead them to a clearer knowledge of 
the truth and to a more perfect conformity 
to its law. If there is anything which we 



162 The Catholic Sunday -School 

can accomplish that will enable our non-Ca- 
tholic friends better to know and do the 
clearly revealed will of Christ, and thereby 
to become more Christlike and certain of 
salvation, by all means this should be done 
by us in the most effective way possible. 

Great Prudence Should Direct Our Ef- 
forts. — Unless we are wise and tactful in 
our effort to bring non-Catholics to a 
knowledge of the true faith, almost certain 
failure will result, and very often the harm 
done will be irreparable. Misguided zeal 
effects little, save the engendering of ill- 
feeling and hostility. It seldom lights up 
the way which leads to God, but tends 
rather to strengthen the conviction of non- 
Catholics that Christ neither commands 
nor wills them to enter the Catholic Church. 
Very often it increases their prejudice and 
makes them more inclined to believe calum- 
niation; and hence, instead of leading 
them nearer to Christ, causes them to de- 
part further from the Light, the Truth, 
and the Way. It is far from easy, how- 
ever, to change a person's religious con- 
victions, either for the better or for the 
worse. The ideas of childhood may be 
modified by age, but they are seldom ef- 



And Non-Catholic Children 163 

faced from the mind. Hence to induce 
one who has arrived at the age of matu- 
rity, and who is conscientious in the prac- 
tice of religion, to abandon one form of re- 
ligious belief for another is, to say the 
least, extremely difficult, unless some spe- 
cial grace has been received from on High. 
Generally the Catholic dies a Catholic ; and, 
unless the grace of God works some un- 
usual change, the unbeliever, after having 
once reached the age of maturity, continues 
such even until death. Hence if the non- 
Catholic world is to be brought into the full 
light of Christ's revealed truth, the chil- 
dren of all races and denominations must 
during their childhood years learn to know 
God's true religion, to love its beauty, and 
to obey its command. 

The Children of all Denominations 
Should be Prudently Encouraged to At- 
tend the Catholic Sunday-School. — These 
little ones are thoroughly sincere in their 
efforts to do God's will and eager to learn 
what is good and helpful. In the Catholic 
Sunday-school all this is taught and noth- 
ing is heard which even borders on sin and 
vice. The doctrines of the Catholic 
Church are free from trace of error, and 



164 The Catholic Sunday-School 

include all the good and true which is 
found in the teaching of every other de- 
nomination. 

Moreover, there are in this country mil- 
lions of children whose parents attend no 
church and make no profession of relig- 
ious belief. These go to no Sunday-school 
whatever. Why should they not be wel- 
comed into ours; and even, when possible 
and prudent, induced to attend? 

They need not be forced. To attempt 
this would be unwise and useless. They 
need not be dragged at once to the baptis- 
mal font, and compelled, as it were, to re- 
ceive the sacraments. But let them at- 
tend the Sunday-school; welcome them 
kindly and make them feel at home. Let 
them listen to the exposition of our holy 
religion, and behold for themselves the 
reasonableness of our belief, the truthful- 
ness of our doctrines, the power of God's 
grace, and the beauty, the glory, the divin- 
ity of Christ's Church. If they continue 
to do this, they will be led sweetly and 
kindly on to the baptismal font, to the 
practice of Catholicity, to the reception of 
the sacraments, to Christ, and to the eter- 
nal happiness of God. Even if they at- 
tend but for one Sunday, this will mean 



And Non-Catholic Children 165 

the accomplishment of at least some good. 
"We should not, therefore, be reluctant or 
careless about prudently encouraging their 
regular attendance. For these little ones 
are priceless in the sight of Christ and 
dear to His sacred Heart. Their salva- 
tion has been purchased by His precious 
blood. His one great desire in their re- 
gard is to have them in heaven with Him- 
self. In order to effect this He commands 
them to become members of His holy 
Church, and He commands us to strive as 
best we can to lead them into the fold 
thereof. His command is our law, to be 
obeyed in all things. His will must be 
done. 

In our endeavor to accomplish this, how- 
ever, no method or means should be em- 
ployed except such as will redound to the 
spiritual welfare of the greatest number. 
It should be made clearly evident to these 
non-Catholics, that no motive prompts our 
effort save an unselfish desire to promote 
their own best and eternal good. Often 
should they be counseled to kneel in prayer 
to God, asking Him to guide them to the 
accomplishment of His will, on through 
life into heaven. They should be made 
to understand thoroughly, that entering 



166 Non-Catholic Children 

the Catholic Church is a matter of con- 
science which rests between themselves 
individually and God; and that God's 
will in this matter, after it is clearly 
and certainly known, must be done 
in all things and at all cost. Finally, they 
should be brought to realize fully how 
little the Church as an institution profits 
from the membership of any individual, 
and how great, endless, and priceless are 
the advantages which we as members de- 
rive from its guidance, its truth, and its 
saving grace. Heaven with all its joyous 
delights, its beauty and glory, with the un- 
ceasing companionship of angels and 
saints, and, above all, with that beatific 
bliss eternal which comes from seeing God 
face to face, is the reward we are offered 
for loving obedience to the will of Christ 
as manifested through His holy Church. 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL ENDEAVORING TO EDU- 
CATE CATHOLICS 

To be a Catholic is to Live as Another 
Christ. — Christ while on earth knew God, 
loved Him, and served Him faithfully 
throughout life. In all things He did the 
will of His heavenly Father. After death 
He ascended glorious and immortal into 
heaven. To us He has said, "Follow 
Me." In as far as we obey this command 
by striving to be like unto Him in our 
knowledge, our love, and our serving of 
God, we become His followers, Christians 
and Catholics. 

The Children Must be Made Catholic. — 
The Sunday-school in its endeavor to 
make the lives of its members Catholic, or 
Christlike, must not be like unto those 
"beating the air," without definitely pre- 
conceived purpose, plan, and method; but 
it must have clearly in view what it is 
striving to accomplish and how this can 
best be effected. Its work is threefold. 
167 



168 The Sunday-School Endeavoring 

It must picture forth and develop in the 
minds of the children Christlike ideas of 
God and His creation, as also of life tem- 
poral and eternal; it must instil into their 
hearts and zealously foster therein such a 
love for God as will prompt them to do in 
all things that which is recognized as the 
divine will; and it must educate them to 
live at all times as Christ Himself would 
live if He were in their place and sent by 
His heavenly Father to fulfill their mis- 
sion in life. 

The Children Must he Educated to Be- 
lieve the Church as Christ's Infallible 
Teacher. — In order to become Christlike 
by doing in all things the will of their 
heavenly Father, they must know clearly 
and definitely what He has commanded. 
This they will know in one way only, by 
learning thoroughly and believing firmly 
the infallible teaching of the Catholic 
Church. It is a matter of vital im- 
portance, therefore, that they hold as 
truth revealed the fact that Christ estab- 
lished His Church to last until the end of 
time, and to* teach with infallible voice 
His doctrine to all nations, and thereby 
to make known to the entire world His 
divine will. When a child has been 



To Educate Catholics 169 

thoroughly convinced of this, he will un- 
hesitatingly accept the teaching of the 
Church as the true teaching of Christ, and 
he will invariably perceive in the com- 
mand of the Church the will of his incar- 
nate God. 

The Children Must he Taught to Obey 
the Church as Christ 's Duly Authorized 
Representative. — If they know the will of 
our blessed Lord, infallibly taught by the 
Catholic Church, their ideas concerning 
sin will be both clear and definite. They 
will understand exactly what they must do 
in order to commit a mortal sin, in order 
to commit a venial sin, and in order to 
avoid the commission of all sin. This the 
individual child should thoroughly know. 
Moreover, in as far as it is deemed best, 
each child should be thoroughly in- 
structed concerning the malice of sin, es- 
pecially of those mortal sins which he is 
most liable to commit. In this way, by 
true and exact instruction, his conscience 
should be rightly formed, so that it will 
be neither too lax nor too strict, but 
Christlike. So thoroughly and accurately 
should this be done, that each child will 
be able to determine with reasonable cor- 
rectness when he has sinned mortally, 



170 The Sunday-School Endeavoring 

when venially, and when he has not sinned 
at all. After this has been done, the in- 
dividual child must be influenced and ed- 
ucated to detest and avoid whatever the 
Church forbids as sinful, and also to love 
and practise whatever it commends as 
being virtuous and Christian. 

The Children Can Not do This without 
the Help of Grace. — Nothing is more 
essentially necessary to the child than a 
thorough realization of this fact. For so 
weak is human nature and so easily in- 
clined to sin, that without some special 
enlightening, prompting, and empowering 
help received from God, no one can do 
even those things which are absolutely re- 
quired for gaining heaven. If the Sun- 
day-school would save the children, there- 
fore, by developing and transforming 
them into other Christs, it must make 
them proof against the enticement of sin, 
by educating them so to understand what 
grace really is and so to appreciate the 
Christianizing power it bestows, that they 
will ever strive as best they can to have 
it present and increasing in their souls. 
Moreover, it must teach these children 
definitely how this grace of God is most 
certainly and abundantly obtained. In 



To Educate Catholics 171 

other words, the Sunday-school must make 
its members realize that if they would ob- 
tain from God that grace which is neces- 
sary for their salvation, they must avoid 
evil companionship and sin, they must 
perform good deeds and works of penance, 
they must pray fervently, hear Mass de- 
voutly, and receive the sacraments both 
worthily and frequently. More than this, 
it must so influence and educate them that 
they will actually perform these works 
and practise these devotions, and thereby 
secure for themselves an abundance of 
that sanctifying grace which Christ pur- 
chased for them by giving up His life on 
the cross. 

The Children Must be Actuated to Live 
Ever Prepared for Death. — When they 
have learned to know God, when their 
hearts have been inflamed with His love 
and made to yearn with a desire to do His 
holy will, when they have been trained 
into such habits of virtue and strong 
Catholic devotion as will cause them to be 
ever careful in avoiding sin, to be zealous 
in the performance of good, to be fervent 
at prayer, devout at Mass, and frequent in 
the worthy reception of the sacraments, 
especially of holy communion, then they 



172 Sunday-School Educating Catholics 

will have become in very deed as other 
Christ s, prepared for death and judgment. 
After they have become accustomed to the 
living of such a life, it is found that they 
seldom depart for any long duration of 
time from its way, and therefore that 
their salvation is practically almost cer- 
tain. Hence to assist Christ and His holy 
Church in effecting this accomplishment 
is the Sunday-school's one great mission. 
For no other purpose is it maintained. 
For no other reason does it exist. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

TEACHING THE CHILDREN TO PRAY 

Prayer is Necessary for Salvation. — No 
child who has come to the use of reason 
can live a Catholic life and save his soul 
without it. He will never gain heaven, 
unless he is assisted by the enlightening 
help, the prompting inspiration, and the 
sanctifying power which heartfelt prayer 
secures from God. Not to have the 
children pray, therefore, is to suffer them 
to be deprived of that grace which is nec- 
essary for their salvation. 

The Children Must be Taught how to 
Pray. — To pray is to be present before 
the throne of God, and with fervent love 
to speak with Him as if we saw Him face 
to face. The children go to our heavenly 
Father; now they praise Him with ador- 
ing hearts ; now they seek merciful pardon 
for sin; now they ask for a special bless- 
ing; and now they return thanks for the 
many favors granted. This is prayer. 
173 



174 Teaching the Children to Pray 

To live in the presence of Christ, before 
His face, within His view, to labor in the 
fulfilling of those duties which He has en- 
trusted to our performance, to ask re- 
peatedly and prayerfully His divine co-op- 
eration, to do all things for Him, to please 
His sacred Heart, is to live a life of 
prayer and to pray always. This fact, so 
true and so inspiring, can not be too viv- 
idly and deeply impressed on the minds 
and hearts of the children. In some way 
they must be made to realize thoroughly 
that Christ is ever near, yearning with an 
infinite desire to help them in every need, 
and speaking in silent language to their 
souls, repeatedly saying: "Ask and you 
shall receive." In order to secure His 
aid, they must seek it with confiding love. 
This love of the children for Christ should 
be truly personal, mutual, even friendly 
and familiar. When prayer is prompted 
by love such as this, it comes from the 
heart, spontaneous, natural, delightful, an 
exhaustless source of inspiration, strength, 
and joy. 

To go to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as 
also to the angels and the sainted ones who 
dwell in heaven with God, and to turn to 
them, as a loving child to its affectionate 



Teaching the Children to Pray 175 

mother or as friend to friend, and to ask 
their guardian protection, their help, and 
intercession, is to have devotion to the 
saints. 

The Children Should he Taught When 
to Pray. — St. Paul says we should pray 
always. He does this who lives in the 
state of grace and performs all his duties 
of life out of loving obedience to God, to 
serve Him by doing His holy will, and 
thereby to promote His honor and glory. 
But there are times when special prayer, 
more fervent and devout, should be said 
and special devotion practised. 

In the morning as soon as the children 
rise from sleep, they should kneel in 
prayer at least for a few moments before 
the throne of God, adoring and praising 
Him, and asking Him to be with them to 
help, to bless, and to protect them through- 
out the day. During the holy sacrifice of 
the Mass, which with glad hearts they 
ought to attend when possible, they should 
kneel before Christ present on the altar 
and prayerfully, affectionately, speak with 
Him in adoration. In the performance of 
their daily work, they should often turn to 
Heaven, and with all confidence seek that 
help which is needed for making their ef- 



176 Teaching the Children to Pray 

forts successful. In the hour of trial and 
temptation, when human strength and the 
assistance of the world seem insufficient, 
they should at once cry out to God for 
grace to persevere and overcome. Before 
retiring for the night, they should again 
kneel in the presence of Heaven. With 
contrite hearts, they should ask God's 
pardon for sin committed, and with con- 
fiding love entrust themselves during the 
hours of sleep to His protecting care. 
More than this, whenever work of special 
importance is to be done, God's co-opera- 
tion and blessing should be sought. 
Above all, whenever the children are pre- 
paring to receive any one of the sacra- 
ments, their souls should be worthily dis- 
posed by fervent and rational prayer. In 
a word, whenever we feel that we should 
adore and praise and thank God, or that 
we can accomplish any result more suc- 
cessfully with His help than without it, we 
should pray. This rule the Sunday-school 
should make the guiding principle of the 
children's prayer and devotion. 

What Prayers Should the Children Say? 
— The answer to this question depends 
largely on the age and the disposition of 
the individual child. Nevertheless, there 



Teaching the Children to Pray 111 

are certain prayers which should be said 
regularly and fervently by all who have 
come to the use of reason. Such are the 
Sign of the Cross, the Our Father, the 
Hail Mary, the Gloria, the Apostles' 
Creed, the Confiteor, the Act of Contri- 
tion, and the Acts of Faith, Hope, and 
Charity. Besides these most useful and 
beautiful of Catholic prayers, there are 
many others suited to various occasions, 
which are to be recommended zealously 
but prudently. Ejaculatory prayers, said 
during every hour of the day, are es- 
pecially worthy of mention. These as- 
cend to heaven from millions of human 
hearts, and are heard before the throne 
of God. They serve to remind us that we 
live before the face of Heaven. They tend 
to keep us ever united with Christ; and 
they bring down into our lives countless 
helps and blessings from on high. 
Another most beautiful and helpful devo- 
tion to our blessed Mother and her divine 
Son is that of the holy Eosary. This is 
loved and cherished by every practical 
Catholic. Then, too, there is the Angelus, 
one of the sweetest professions of belief 
in the mystery of the Incarnation ever 
made by a human soul. In fact, there are 



178 Teaching the Children to Pray 

in our holy Church so many beautiful and 
soul-inspiring prayers, that it is necessary 
for each Sunday-school director to decide 
for himself as to which are best for the 
children under his charge. 

In recommending and prescribing 
prayers, however, there is one fact which 
should be ever borne in mind. A few 
prayers fervently and frequently said are 
far more effective of good and far more 
powerful before the throne of God than a 
great variety which come from the lips 
rather than the heart. Hence every child 
should have certain prayers thoroughly 
memorized, and should be educated to say 
these devoutly and regularly at specified 
times. A habit of prayer such as this, 
when rightly formed in childhood, will 
generally continue throughout life, and 
serve to keep us obedient to our God and 
pleasing to the Sacred Heart. 

From Whom Should the Children Learn 
to Pray? — Of all the blessings and privi- 
leges which parents enjoy on earth, the 
sweetest and most delightful is that of 
teaching their child to speak in loving con- 
verse with God, and to lisp in childish ac- 
cent those prayers which are to be said 
on life's every day, and which are to en- 



Teaching the Children to Pray ±79 

able it to live in obedience and union with 
Christ, as His follower, His friend, His 
beloved one. To educate the children to 
be prayerful is not only the parents' privi- 
lege, but it is also their bounden duty, 
most sacred in the sight of God. It is 
a duty, moreover, which they must in 
some way be made to realize and to per- 
form faithfully. The Sunday-school di- 
rector, therefore, must strive by all means 
possible to have this accomplished. 

What Must the Sunday-School do in 
This Work?— The work of the Sunday- 
school in regard to prayer is first to 
specify definitely to the various teachers 
which prayers the pupils of their respec- 
tive classes should have thoroughly memo- 
rized, and, secondly, to see that each child 
actually knows the prayers prescribed and 
really says them properly at the times des- 
ignated. This may require incessant vig- 
ilance, continual effort, and great pru- 
dence, but the results accomplished will 
more than compensate the labor expended. 
After the children have been made truly 
and spiritually prayerful, their growth in 
Catholicity will be rapid. Their thoughts 
and desires, their character and life, will 
daily become more divinely Christlike. 



CHAPTEE XXXII 

EDUCATING THE CHILDREN TO ASSIST 
PROPERLY AT MASS 

The Children Must Know Clearly What 
the Mass is. — Until they are made to un- 
derstand, in as far as they are capable, 
what the Mass really is, it would be vain 
to expect from them any true reverence or 
love for Christ offered in sacrifice on the 
altar. Clearly must they have pictured in 
their minds the scene of Calvary, the Cru- 
cifixion, and thoroughly must they be 
brought to realize that the sacrifice of the 
Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the 
cross; that is, that the same Christ who 
was nailed to the cross and who offered to 
His heavenly Father His blood, His life, 
and His all for our salvation, continues to 
be present on the altar, and, during the 
holy sacrifice of the Mass, to offer the 
same blood and the same life to the same 
heavenly Father to secure for us individ- 
ually the help we need for being saved; 
and hence, since the sacrifice of the Mass 
180 



Assisting Properly at Mass 181 

is really and actually that of the cross con- 
tinued, it certainly follows, that when we 
assist devoutly at Mass it is as if we 
knelt on Mount Calvary beneath the cross 
on which was the Saviour as our bleeding 
sacrificial victim. To make the children 
realize this, is the Sunday-school's sacred 
duty. 

The Children's Attendance at Mass on 
Sundays and Holy days of Obligation Must 
be Secured. — The children, as soon as they 
have come to the use of reason, are bound 
under pain of mortal sin to be present at 
Mass whenever possible on all Sundays 
and holydays of obligation. They should 
be so well instructed concerning this com- 
mandment that they can determine with 
reasonable correctness for themselves 
when they are obliged under pain of 
mortal sin to attend Mass, and when, by 
reason of some excusing cause, they may 
remain away without committing sin. 
Not only must the children be educated to 
know just when they are bound in con- 
science to attend Mass, but they must also 
in some way be influenced to be actually 
present when possible at these times. 

The Children's Attendance at Mass 
Should be Regular. — It is found to be 



182 Educating the Children 

almost impossible to secure the regular 
and continued attendance of the children 
at Mass without the parents' hearty co- 
operation. Hence the Sunday-school di- 
rector should not fail to have the parents 
know and thoroughly realize, that not only 
are children bound under pain of mortal 
sin to be present at Mass when possible 
on Sundays and holydays of obligation, 
but also that parents are likewise bound 
under pain of mortal sin to use all reason- 
able means required for securing on these 
days the actual attendance of their own 
children at the Holy Sacrifice. 

Merely to instruct the parents concern- 
ing the obligation of this commandment 
is by no means the Sunday-school's only 
duty. It must also endeavor as best it can 
to persuade them to fulfil this obligation. 
It must induce them to labor as one with 
the Church in an effort to secure their 
children's regular attendance at Mass. 
To effect this result is seldom easy. For 
in almost every parish there are some 
parents who persistently allow their chil- 
dren to be absent from Mass, or, as hap- 
pens in many cases, discourage and even 
forbid their attendance. To succeed in 
having such children as these hear Mass 



To Assist Properly at Mass 183 

regularly is a work most difficult, and one 
that requires the greatest of prudence, un- 
limited zeal, and continual effort. Va- 
rious methods have been devised for ac- 
complishing this result, and many of these 
have been tried in different parishes. 
Some were found to be fairly successful; 
others would have been more so had they 
been systematically continued. However 
much these systems may differ in detail, 
they have essentially the same purpose, to 
secure the names of all the children of the 
parish, and then to find out on each Sun- 
day how many of these actually attend 
Mass, so as to know which ones are to be 
encouraged to persevere in faithfulness 
and which are to be urged on to increased 
regularity. Some are succeeding admi- 
rably well in this work by giving a ticket 
to each child entering the church for Mass, 
and then by having the teachers of the sev- 
eral classes collect these tickets at the be- 
ginning of the Sunday-school session and 
keep an exact record of those who are 
without them and who have missed Mass 
on that day. From these class reports, 
the secretary secures a complete record of 
the entire school, which is systematized in 
due form and given to the director. 



184 Educating the Children 

Others have preferred to dispense with. 
Mass cards or tickets, and to have this in- 
formation obtained from the various 
teachers, through the secretary. 

During the summer time, when many of 
the children are visiting in various 
parishes on their vacation, special means 
have been employed to secure this record. 
Some have succeeded fairly well by using 
Mass cards. On one side of these the 
dates of the successive Sundays and holy- 
days of obligation were placed in order to 
be punched at the door of the church. On 
the; other side were blank forms to be 
signed by the priest of the parish where 
the child happens to be staying and to 
hear Mass. In a small parish, where the 
pastor knows each of his people thor- 
oughly and personally, simpler methods 
will prove effectual. Some system, how- 
ever, must be followed by those in charge 
for securing regular attendance, and what- 
ever this may be it must be adapted to par- 
ticular needs and local conditions. More- 
over, as soon as it is found to be useless or 
even inferior, it must be abandoned im- 
mediately for one that is better and more 
effective. In some way the children must 
be kept continually and individually under 



To Assist Properly at Mass 185 

the watchful care and guiding influence of 
the priest; and they must be made to 
realize that the priest in all his efforts is 
prompted by unselfish love, and that at all 
times his one great purpose is to perform 
his duty faithfully by having each child 
entrusted to his care hear Mass regularly 
and devoutly on all Sundays and holydays 
of obligation. 

The Children's Attendance at Mass 
Should be Punctual. — They should be so 
instructed as to understand clearly that in 
order to fulfil their obligation of hearing 
Mass on Sundays and holydays of obliga- 
tion, and thereby to avoid mortal sin, it is 
necessary that they be present at the Of- 
fertory and remain until after the Com- 
munion. Moreover, every child must be 
brought to a thorough realization of the 
fact, that even if he is present at the en- 
tire part of the Mass which is required 
for fulfilling the precept and avoiding 
mortal sin, yet, if through any known and 
wilful fault of his, he arrives after the 
Mass has begun or leaves before it is en- 
tirely finished, he thereby sins venially 
against this precept. Hence all that lies 
within the power of the Sunday-school 
should be done to induce each child to be 



186 Educating the Children 

punctual in his attendance at Mass and to 
remain until the Holy Sacrifice is finished. 

The Children Must be Educated to Hear 
Mass Devoutly. — To assist at Mass is one 
of the holiest acts of devotion which can 
be offered to God. It is also one which is 
most pleasing in His sight and which se- 
cures from Him most abundant grace and 
blessing. The benefits derived from hear- 
ing Mass, however, depend in a large mea- 
sure on the fervor of that personal love for 
Christ which we have in our soul while 
present. Hence those who are in charge 
of the Sunday-school can not be too solici- 
tous about educating the children to hear 
Mass intelligently and with proper de- 
votion. 

The children should be made to realize, 
that whenever they set out to hear Mass 
they are going into the presence of Christ, 
to please, honor, and adore Him in obe- 
dience to His command; or, if it is not of 
obligation, that they are accepting His in- 
vitation and coming to be with Him dur- 
ing the Holy Sacrifice. If the Sunday- 
school has done its work, as soon as these 
little ones enter the door of the church a 
feeling of devout reverence will fill their 
hearts, and instinctively they will avoid all 



To Assist Properly at Mass 187 

frivolity and unnecessary conversation. 
In the vestibule each child should devoutly 
dip his fingers in the holy water and care- 
fully make on himself the Sign of the 
Cross. To render his soul free from sin 
and pleasing in the sight of Christ, he 
should make from his heart an act of con- 
trition, and with all his soul resolve for 
the future to avoid, as best he can, every- 
thing which he realizes to be sinful. Then, 
he should thoroughly realize, that pro- 
vided he has perfect contrition for his 
mortal sins and at least imperfect con- 
trition for those that are venial, as he 
steps into the church in the presence of 
Christ, his soul is pure and sinless. While 
walking down the aisle to his appointed 
place he should gaze at the altar, at the 
tabernacle wherein the Blessed Sacrament 
is kept, and in doing this he should know 
with certainty that he is gazing into the 
very face of Christ, who is really and truly 
present, rejoicing with glad heart at the 
approach of each friend. Before entering 
the pew, he should genuflect profoundly 
with loving adoration, bowing the head 
slightly and almost, if not quite, touching 
the floor with his knee. Having taken his 
proper place he should at once kneel, and 



188 Educating the Children 

adore with all his soul Christ dwelling on 
the altar, and commune with Him even as 
if he saw Him face to face, visibly en- 
throned in the sanctuary. The time spent 
waiting for Mass to begin should be de- 
voted to prayerful preparation, thinking 
of Christ, conversing with Him by means 
of that silent language of the heart, telling 
Him of life's plans and endeavors, of its 
trials and temptations, thanking Him for 
favors granted, asking His future help 
and guidance, and then listening lovingly, 
trustingly, and obediently to His words of 
inspiration and counsel. There is one 
help to devotion which no child should de- 
liberately be without during the time of 
Mass, and that is a prayer-book containing 
suitable and soul-inspiring prayers to be 
said while the Holy Sacrifice is being of- 
fered. This should be found in the hands 
of every child, and should be used by each, 
at least as soon as the mind begins to wan- 
der and be occupied with other thoughts 
than those of Christ. Even if the child 
can not as yet read all the prayers, or in 
fact any of them, he can at any rate study 
the pictures and therein perhaps find far 
greater food for devotion than many glean 
from the printed page. These prayer- 



To Assist Properly at Mass 189 

books will serve to keep the minds of the 
children thinking of Christ and fill their 
hearts with a sweet desire to do His holy 
will. Moreover, they will tend to impart 
an ever truer knowledge of the Holy Sac- 
rifice, and to make appreciated ever more 
the blessings it bestows. At least, as 
Christ from His altar throne gazes down 
upon these little ones and watches with 
tenderest affection their every endeavor, 
He will know that they are trying as best 
they can to show Him due homage and 
adoration, and His sacred Heart will be 
pleased with their loving reverence, and 
He will manifest this joy by hearing their 
prayers and showering on them priceless 
blessings. Hence if the children are well 
trained to use a prayer-book regularly and 
properly, it will be comparatively easy to 
educate them to hear Mass intelligently, 
devoutly, and with great profit to them- 
selves. They should by no means, how- 
ever, be made to feel that every moment 
during the Holy Sacrifice must be spent 
reading or using the prayer-book. This 
would be wrong. For if at any time they 
have something special to say to Christ, or 
if they wish to remain all absorbed in un- 
disturbed meditation, or to hold sweet and 



190 Educating the Children 

silent communion with their blessed Lord, 
they should be permitted, even counseled 
and encouraged to do so. But as soon as 
the mind ceases to be occupied with these 
thoughts, or begins to become distracted, 
then they should again and at once turn to 
the prayer-book and avail themselves of 
its afforded help and inspiration. 

There is one duty most sacred, in which 
the priest who has charge of Sunday- 
school children should never be delin- 
quent. Never under any consideration, 
unless unavoidable necessity requires it, 
should these little ones be permitted to as- 
semble in the church for any divine serv- 
ice, and especially for the holy sacrifice 
of the Mass, without having over them 
some grown persons to maintain strict dis- 
cipline. No frivolity or unnecessary con- 
versation should for any reason be al- 
lowed. In some way it must be prevented. 
Otherwise these children will be allowed to 
grow up without reverence or respect for 
the Blessed Sacrament, and some at least 
will cease to believe in the Eeal Presence. 
As a result, they will inevitably drift 
away into infidelity, sin, and ruin. On the 
other hand, all possible must be done to 
inflame the hearts of these children with a 



To Assist Properly at Mass 191 

fervent love for Christ in the Blessed Sac- 
rament. For unless they learn to know 
our divine Lord, and to love Him, and to 
keep themselves under His guiding influ- 
ence, they can not be saved. 

In effecting this desire, those who are in 
charge of the children should ever be 
mindful of the fact that they are in the 
church, in the presence of the Blessed 
Sacrament. All things should be done as 
quietly as possible, prayerfully, and, at the 
same time, orderly. At each of the sev- 
eral services, the children must be taught 
definitely to know how they are supposed 
to conduct themselves, what is best for 
them to do, as also the proper time for 
them to kneel, to be seated, to stand, and 
to genuflect. Not only their heartfelt 
prayer, but also their general deportment 
and their every exterior act should mani- 
fest the greatest possible homage and ad- 
oration to Christ dwelling with us on the 
altar as our Saviour, our God, and our 
All. 

To educate the individual children to be- 
lieve and understand rightly concerning 
the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and so to 
appreciate the blessings and graces it be- 
stows, as to attend regularly, punctually, 



192 Assisting Properly at Mass 

and devoutly, is a work which requires 
from the Sunday-school long years of wise 
instruction and tactful training. It is a 
work, however, which brings these little 
children directly and continually nearer 
unto Christ and more under the sanctify- 
ing influence of His divine personality. 
Hence there is no doubt that the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus rejoices with infinite joy 
whenever it is being well performed by 
His friends and helpers in the Sunday- 
school. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

EDUCATING THE CHILDREN TO MAKE WORTHY 
CONFESSIONS 

The Children Must Understand how 
They Offend God by Sin. — Deep in the 
soul of every child should be fostered a 
realization of the malice of sin and a hor- 
ror for its commission. With the eyes of 
faith, he must behold his God ever present 
before him, seeing all things, knowing all 
things, infinitely just and good. After he 
has been taught to know God and to love 
Him, he will, at least during his better 
moments, earnestly desire to serve Him by 
doing what he really believes to be the 
divine command. He will live in the pres- 
ence of God and strive by his life to please 
the Sacred Heart. In order to succeed in 
this, however, he must be taught definitely 
to know what is right and what is wrong, 
so that he may be trained from his earliest 
years to avoid what is sinful and to prac- 
tise what is virtuous. Nothing possible 
should be left undone to save each child 
193 



194 Educating the Children 

from forming any habit of mortal sin. A 
child may be kept free from sinful habits ; 
but after a habit of mortal sin is once 
formed, seldom without a miracle of grace 
can he be completely rescued from its thral- 
dom. Every child, therefore, ought to be 
sufficiently instructed concerning the mal- 
ice of sin, that he will be able to decide 
with reasonable accuracy in each particu- 
lar case whether his sin is venial or mor- 
tal. 

The Children Should Realize the Evil 
and Punishment of Sin. — Before their 
minds should be pictured as vividly and 
truthfully as possible the evil which comes 
from disobeying God by sin, the base in- 
gratitude of such rebellion, the personal 
insult it offers to God, the friendship and 
love it lessens or destroys, and finally the 
punishment it merits in this world and es- 
pecially in the next. After a child has 
been made to realize all this, it will not be 
found difficult to influence him to hate sin 
and to shun its temptation. Even after 
he has sinned mortally, he will almost at 
once feel repentant and, resolving to avoid 
this sin in the future, seek to regain the 
friendship and favor of God. He will 
turn back almost instinctively from sin, 



To Make Worthy Confessions 195 

and going to Christ ask humbly and sin- 
cerely for forgiveness. 

The Children Must Know how God's 
Forgiveness of Sin is to be Secured. — As 
to any venial sin, they should be educated 
to know clearly that as soon as they are 
truly repentant for this, even with imper- 
fect contrition, and firmly resolved not to 
commit it in the future, it is forgiven. In 
regard to mortal sin, the individual chil- 
dren should be so instructed that they will 
know accurately and clearly what Christ 
has commanded to be done in order to se- 
cure its forgiveness. Not only should 
they be made to realize what they must do 
in order to make a worthy confession and 
to secure as great benefits as possible from 
the reception of that sacrament, but they 
should also be brought to understand what 
they must do in order to make an act of 
perfect contrition and thereby to obtain 
the forgiveness of mortal sin as soon as 
possible after its commission. They must 
in some way be convinced of the fact, that 
even their mortal sins are forgiven as soon 
as they really repent from their hearts for 
having thus offended God, and sincerely 
resolve to strive in the future as best they 
can for the sake of Christ, to please His 



196 Educating the Children 

sacred Heart, and never again to commit 
these sins or any others actually known to 
be mortal. Such contrition is truly per- 
fect and, as soon as conceived, frees the 
soul from deadly sin. Finally, the chil- 
dren must be clearly taught that every 
mortal sin remembered to have been com- 
mitted after Baptism and not told in a 
previous good confession, must be con- 
fessed if the sacrament of Penance would 
be worthily received. 

The Children Must he Prepared for 
Confession. — The best time for imparting 
definite and practical instruction on con- 
fession to the children is when they are 
about to receive this sacrament. One 
thing must by some means be accom- 
plished. No child should be admitted to 
the tribunal of Penance for confession 
who does not understand what the sacra- 
ment of Penance is and what he must do to 
receive it worthily. Especially is this 
true in regard to the first confession. 

When the time draws near for the chil- 
dren's quarterly confessions, they should 
be assembled for instruction and in- 
structed until every one of them under- 
stands clearly what he is about to do. So 
thorough should be this instruction, exam- 



To Make Worthy Confessions 197 

ination of conscience, and preparation, 
that each child will realize, in as far as he 
is capable, what it means to commit a mor- 
tal sin; what mortal sins, if any, he has 
committed ; what venial sins he is going to 
tell, and what he must do in order to have 
all these forgiven. All this should be 
brought definitely and vividly before the 
mind of the individual child, so that after 
he enters the confessional he will say and 
do every thing necessary properly and 
without hesitation. The children, in ordi- 
nary cases, can be prepared for confession 
in this way ; and there is no adequate rea- 
son why they should not be. After con- 
fession, the penance should be said, 
devoutly, invariably, and if possible im- 
mediately, and also heartfelt thanks should 
be returned to God for His merciful for- 
giveness. 

The Children Should be Educated to go 
to Confession Regularly. — That each child 
who has come to the use of reason should 
receive the sacrament of Penance at least 
four times a year, no one will deny. For 
many, perhaps for the greater number, this 
may suffice, but certainly not for all. Each 
child should be so educated that when he 
realizes himself to have sinned mortally, 



198 Educating the Children 

he will not only make at once an act 
of contrition as perfect as possible, but 
he will also go to confession at the first op- 
portunity offered. If this were done, how 
few of these children would ever become 
enslaved by a habit of mortal sin, and con- 
sequently how few would be lost to the 
Church and to Christ! Regularly, there- 
fore, at certain times appointed during the 
year, and especially after having certainly 
committed mortal sin, the individual chil- 
dren should be taught by the home and the 
Church to receive the sacrament of Pen- 
ance worthily. 

The Children Should he Educated to 
Make Each Confession Well. — Nothing 
possible should be left undone to make 
them realize and appreciate the fact that 
the more closely their contrition ap- 
proaches to the absolutely perfect, the 
more completely are their souls freed 
from sin and sanctified by grace. Hence 
their every confession should be made as 
well as possible, even as if it were to be 
the last one before death and judgment, 
which actually may be the case. 

The Duty of the Sunday-School in Re- 
gard to Confession. — Since the mission of 
the Sunday-school is to prepare children 



To Make Worthy Confessions 199 

for heaven, into which nothing sinful can 
enter, and since these little ones are living 
in a world of sinful temptation to which 
all are more or less subject, it manifestly 
follows that the work of keeping them 
free from sin and of purifying them from 
its defilement is one of vital importance, 
essentially sacred and Christlike. But no 
Sunday-school will succeed in this en- 
deavor unless it follows thoroughly and 
rationally some systematic method. It 
must first find out exactly what work is to 
be done, and how this may be most effect- 
ively accomplished, and then it must con- 
tinue to labor prudently and zealously, 
week after week and year after year, for 
its successful accomplishment. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

EDUCATING THE CHILDREN TO RECEIVE HOLY 
COMMUNION 

The Children Must be Made Familiar 
with the Doctrines of the Holy Eucharist. 
— That this sacrament is encircled by a 
halo of mysteries too glorious and infinite 
for human comprehension is most true; 
and yet under that lowly appearance of 
bread and wine dwells a Saviour who can 
be known and loved and served by the 
little children as truly as by the greatest 
of sages and philosophers. The one great 
truth which should be impressed by the 
Sunday-school vividly and indelibly on the 
mind of every child is that the Blessed 
Sacrament is Christ Himself, really and 
personally present with His body and 
blood, soul and divinity; in a word with 
His glorified, living, conscious body. 
From their earliest days they should be 
educated to realize that whenever they 
gaze on the Blessed Sacrament, they are 
gazing into the very face of Christ, the in- 
200 



Receiving Holy Communion 201 

carnate God, who is looking forth through 
the veiling appearance of bread and wine, 
beholding them present before Him, per- 
ceiving their thoughts and desires, and 
hearing their every word and prayer. 
This one thought should arise clearly and 
beautifully pictured before the mind of 
every child as soon as he enters into the 
presence of the Blessed Sacrament. All 
other doctrines of the Holy Eucharist will 
but explain who Christ really is and what 
He is accomplishing. 

The Children Must he Inflamed with 
Love for the Blessed Sacrament, — After 
they have been taught to know Christ per- 
sonally and to appreciate the fact that He 
is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, 
it will be found comparatively easy to in- 
flame their hearts with love for this Sa- 
viour God who dwells with us in the Holy 
Eucharist. This love should be no feeble 
sentiment, but active and dominant, such 
as will induce them to strive as best they 
can to please the Sacred Heart by doing 
the divine will in all things. If the chil- 
dren's love for Christ is real and true, of- 
ten during the week they will delight to 
come and visit Him, to kneel in sweet and 
silent prayer before the Blessed Sacra- 



202 Educating the Children 

ment. At the services they will endeavor 
to be present regularly and with reverence. 
At the holy sacrifice of the Mass they will 
assist when possible with heartfelt devo- 
tion. Always will they realize that within 
the tabernacle dwells our God, our Saviour, 
our truest and best friend; and that He 
dwells there in the Blessed Sacrament not 
so much for His own honor and glory as 
for our salvation, to be with us, to help us 
in our necessities, to be offered as a victim 
for us in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, to 
enter our souls in holy communion, and to 
assist us on through life into heaven. 

The Children Should be Taught to 
Value Rightly the Grace Received in Holy 
Communion. — Every grace coming from 
the hand of God should be prized by them 
at its true worth, and in as far as possible 
obtained through penance, prayer, and the 
sacraments. But in the Holy Eucharist 
they should realize that Christ Himself is 
present as the divine Saviour through 
whom every help and blessing is obtained. 
When worthily received in holy commun- 
ion He enters the soul, which then becomes 
His living tabernacle, effulgent with the 
infinite beauty of His divine glory. His 
grace, as if it were of crimson blood, puri- 



To Receive Holy Communion 203 

fies from stain of sin the repentant soul 
and gives it health and power and inspira- 
tion. By His omnipotence, Christ while 
dwelling within the soul transforms it into 
His own image and likeness. Hence the 
oftener we receive Him in holy commun- 
ion, the more Christlike do we become in 
thought and desire, in life and character, 
the more successful in our achievement, 
the more certain of our salvation. 

The Children Must Know What Prepa- 
ration is Required for a Worthy Commun- 
ion. — No child should be admitted to his 
first holy communion until he has clearly 
and deeply impressed on his mind exactly 
what preparation is absolutely necessary 
for receiving communion worthily. The re- 
quirements demanded by Our Lord and His 
Church are three: to be free from mortal 
sin, to be fasting from midnight, and to 
have the right intention. If any one has 
sinned mortally since his last worthy con- 
fession, he must before again receiving 
communion tell this with contrite heart in 
the tribunal of Penance and receive absolu- 
tion. So thoroughly should the individual 
children be instructed to know this, that 
each child will be able to decide for himself 
with reasonable accuracy and at any time, 



204 Educating the Children 

whether or not he is worthy to approach 
and receive his divine Saviour in com- 
munion. 

The Children Must be Prepared for Re- 
ceiving Holy Communion Well. — Not only 
should they be familiar with the catechism 
and thoroughly instructed in Christian 
doctrine, especially in the doctrine of the 
Holy Eucharist, but they should also make 
a proximate preparation to dispose them 
well for the reception of this Most Holy 
Sacrament. In the case of their first com- 
munion, this is done by means of a spe- 
cially prepared course of instruction and of 
a well conducted retreat. As to their sub- 
sequent communions, however, they are 
generally left almost entirely to their own 
effort and resource. Hence arises the ne- 
cessity of educating them in the Sunday- 
school to know definitely which manner of 
receiving holy communion is best and 
most fruitful, and then of training them 
year after year to communicate in this 
way. When preparing for communion 
they should be taught to keep devoutly be- 
fore their minds by prayerful considera- 
tion the fact that Christ is about to enter 
their souls. This thought will serve to in- 
duce them to prepare well for His coming. 



To Receive Holy Communion 205 

If possible they should assist devoutly at 
Mass, and by all means make use of a 
prayer-book to keep their minds medita- 
ting on Christ, to make them realize more 
thoroughly whom they are about to receive 
and for what graces they should ask, to in- 
spire their souls with devotion, and to in- 
flame their hearts with sanctifying love. 
Reverently should they approach and with 
devout love should they receive Christ in 
the Holy Eucharist, and then, forgetting all 
else, they should return to their places and 
adore our blessed Lord with heartfelt, joy- 
ous praise. At this time, above all others, 
should special favors be sought, needed 
graces implored, and fervent thanksgiv- 
ing rendered for every good gift received, 
but especially for this, the best. Finally, 
the children should go their way firmly re- 
solved so to live, that Christ will continue 
to dwell spiritually in their souls, wielding 
therein a Christianizing influence, and en- 
abling them so to act that they will be 
worthy soon to receive Him again, and 
that each communion received will be even 
holier than the last. 

The Children Should he Educated to 
Communicate Frequently. — No work of 
the Sunday-school is of more vital impor- 



206 Educating the Children 

tance or of stricter obligation than this; 
none is more meritorious in the sight of 
God and more pleasing to the Sacred 
Heart. All the instruction of the Sunday- 
school and all the activity of its members 
should be directed to the accomplishment 
of this one crowning work, preparing and 
disposing the young to receive holy com- 
munion worthily and frequently. In as 
far as it succeeds in this one thing, all else, 
through the grace and co-operation of 
Christ, shall certainly follow. For every 
one who receives holy communion worthily 
and frequently performs his daily duties, 
lives a Catholic life, and thereby makes his 
salvation certain. Moreover, during each 
day of his life, he merits for himself ad- 
ditional joy and glory in heaven. If the 
children would be saved, therefore, and if 
the Church would quickly conquer the en- 
tire world and bring all into one fold and 
unto one Lord, the young must be thor- 
oughly educated in the practice of receiv- 
ing holy communion worthily and fre- 
quently. 

This Should be the Sunday-School's 
Chief Endeavor. — Since the sole mission 
of the Sunday-school is to prepare its 



To Receive Holy Communion 207 

members for heaven by educating them to 
live according to the will of God, and since 
there is but One through whom they will 
be disposed and enabled to live such a life, 
and that One is Christ, really and person- 
ally present in the Blessed Sacrament, it 
is manifest that if the Sunday-school 
would succeed in its work it must not only 
instruct them thoroughly in Christ's doc- 
trine and persuade them to believe His 
truth, but it must also keep them under the 
influence of His divine power by inducing 
them to receive holy communion worthily 
and frequently, and thereby to be disposed 
and enabled by divine grace to fashion 
their lives according to His holy will. In 
some way the Sunday-school must bring 
the individual children to realize and ap- 
preciate the fact that Christ lived and died 
to save them, that He loves each of them 
with an infinite love and that He yearns 
with an infinite desire to have each of 
them saved. For this purpose He has 
given Himself in the Blessed Sacrament to 
be their spiritual food, to heal the infirm- 
ity of sin, to guide their way, to protect 
them from evil, to render them victorious 
over temptation, to make them successful 



208 Educating the Children 

in life 's endeavor, to bring them safely into 
heaven, and thus to have them with Him- 
self present before His throne, enjoying 
beatific delight forever. Hence in no way 
can the children give greater joy to the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus, secure more abun- 
dant graces for themselves, promote more 
truly their own success in life, make their 
salvation more certain, and their eternal 
happiness and glory greater than by re- 
ceiving Christ, the incarnate God, fre- 
quently and worthily in holy communion. 
At each additional communion, worthily re- 
ceived, Christ sanctifies the soul more from 
the defilement of sin, gives it increased 
power and perfection, and transforms it 
ever more into the image and likeness of 
His own beauty and divinity. Hence those 
who receive holy communion most worth- 
ily and frequently during life shall be 
most like unto Christ in heaven, shall 
behold with clearest vision the truth 
eternal, shall thrill with the intensest 
joy beatific, shall wield the greatest 
power for good, shall shine most resplen- 
dently with beauteous glory, and shall 
be nearest unto the great white throne 
forever. 



To Receive Holy Communion 209 

To educate the children, therefore, so 
that they will receive holy communion 
worthily and frequently throughout life, is 
the Sunday-school's crowning achieve- 
ment, its all important mission, its joy and 
supreme glory. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

EDUCATING THE CHILDREN TO FOLLOW THEIR 
VOCATION 

God not only made all creatures from 
nothing, but He assigned to each a certain 
reason of existence, a certain part to be 
taken in the activity of the created uni- 
verse. For each person, He marked out 
a particular mission in life; and, while we 
are striving as best we can to fulfil this 
mission according to His divine will, we 
are succeeding best in serving and pleas- 
ing Him, in preparing ourselves for heav- 
en, in increasing our sanctification and, 
consequently, our eternal glory. 

God Gives to Each Person a Special Vo- 
cation. — By a vocation is meant a divine 
call either to remain in the state of life in 
which we are already living and to dis- 
charge rightly its proper duties, or else to 
enter some different state of life and to 
fulfil faithfully the obligations it imposes. 
The various states of life to which we are 
called are certain fixed manners of living, 
210 



Children and Their Vocation 211 

or of serving as instruments in the hands 
of God to effect the designs of His provi- 
dence. 

God has a special plan in regard to each 
of us ; to each He gives a vocation. "Each 
has his proper gift from God," says St. 
Paul," one after this manner and one af- 
ter that." In explaining these words, 
Cornelius a Lapide gives us the following 
exegesis: "God gives to every one his vo- 
cation. He chooses the state in which He 
wishes Himself to be served by each, and 
He prepares for each the efficacious grace 
required to enable him to live in that par- 
ticular state to which he has been called 
and to be saved. ' ' This grace, however, is 
offered to us conditionally; on condition 
that we live in the state of life to which He 
has called us. When we fail to do this, 
we frustrate the kind intentions of God in 
our behalf, we deprive ourselves of that 
helping grace which He has prepared for 
us, and as a result we find it more difficult 
to keep from sin and to gain heaven. 
Hence to choose and to live in the right 
state of life, the one to which God has 
called us, is for each person a matter of 
supreme and eternal importance. This 
fact should be well remembered by pastors 



212 Educating the Children 

and spiritual advisers, and should receive 
their most serious and prayerful attention. 
In as far as lies within their power, they 
should educate those entrusted to their 
charge to know the various states of life, 
and they should induce these persons, 
both young and old, to follow that voca- 
tion which they have received, to live as 
Christians in the state of life to which 
they have been called, to avail themselves 
of all the graces offered, and to discharge 
faithfully the duties therein imposed. 

Different States of Life Are Designed 
for Different Persons. — Theologians in 
general are agreed that the various states 
of life to at least one of which all persons 
are individually called are four in num- 
ber; namely, virginity, matrimony, the re- 
ligious state, and the priesthood. 

1. Virginity. All who have not as yet 
attained the proper age for matrimony, 
or who are entirely unfitted for it by some 
disqualification, are called to remain in the 
state of virginity. Moreover, even among 
the marriageable, many are found who 
have a true vocation from God to continue 
living the virgin life. This vocation 
should by no one be despised. It should 
be esteemed as a special blessing from 



To Follow Their Vocation 213 

heaven. For the Church teaches as infal- 
lible truth that the state of virginity is 
more perfect and pleasing in the sight of 
God than that of matrimony. The Coun- 
cil of Trent has declared this doctrine to 
be a dogma of faith. "If any one shall 
say," decrees this council, "that the con- 
jugal state is to be preferred to the state 
of virginity or celibacy, and that it is not 
better and more blessed to remain in the 
state of virginity or celibacy, than to be 
joined in matrimony, let him be anath- 
ema. ' ' 

While directing the young in regard to 
this vocation, however, one thing should 
be kept clearly and constantly before the 
mind of the priest ; namely, not all who are 
living the single life have been called to 
the state of virginity. On the contrary, 
many of these have been called to the mar- 
riage state, but for one reason or another 
are neglecting to follow their vocation, 
and instead of saving their souls by doing 
God's will they are living lives of sin and 
immorality. If the priest would accom- 
plish any thing permanent in his endeavor 
to save these, he must first induce them 
to enter that state to which they have been 
called. Those only should continue living 



214 Educating the Children 

the single life who feel convinced that God 
wills them to live in virginity. 

2. Matrimony. By far the greater 
number of adults are called to live in this 
state ; and this vocation, coming as it does 
from God, should be followed by all to 
whom it is given. Failure to do this has 
brought ruin, material and spiritual, into 
many a life, and caused the eternal loss of 
many souls. To prevent this evil as best 
it can be done is the bounden duty of 
every priest to whom a pastoral charge 
has been entrusted. He must instruct 
his people, especially the young, as soon 
as they have arrived at a proper age, 
concerning this vocation. He must in- 
duce them to consult God seriously and 
prayerfully in order to discover the par- 
ticular state of life to which they are 
individually called. He must persuade 
them to follow their vocation at any cost, 
to do the will of God as manifest, and, 
through the aid of special graces given, to 
fulfil as practical Catholics all obligations 
imposed. While endeavoring to do this, 
he should remember that he is merely 
obeying Christ, laboring with Him to fur- 
ther the true welfare of the individual, the 
State, and the Church. Vitally and su- 



To Follow Their Vocation 215 

premely important is this work. For no 
reason should it be voluntarily neglected. 

3. The Eeligious State. More perfect 
than matrimony or even than virginity is 
the state of religion. The call to this life 
comes truly from Christ, not in the sense 
that He makes it imperative, but He rec- 
ommends or counsels it for some few 
chosen souls as a means of advancing to 
greater perfection and usefulness and 
glory. Those who are responsive to this 
vocation leave all for the sake of follow- 
ing, loving, and serving Christ. More 
than this, in order that their abandon- 
ment of worldly advantage and selfish 
interest may be complete and permanent, 
on entering the religious life they bind 
themselves by vow to observe the three 
evangelical counsels; namely, poverty, 
chastity, and obedience. 

In taking these vows, they act from 
wise and salutary motives. They choose 
a life of voluntary poverty so that, being 
freed from the engrossing cares of earthly 
possession and wealth, as also from the 
alluring temptations of avarice, they may 
love with undivided affection Christ their 
God. As a reward for this sacrifice made 
for the sake of their beloved One, they 



216 Educating the Children 

" shall receive a hundredfold, and shall 
possess life everlasting" (Matt, xix, 29). 
They voluntarily abstain from marriage 
and live a life of virginity so that they 
may be more pleasing in the sight of God 
and may devote themselves entirely to His 
service. With Christlike obedience, free 
and entire, they submit to the will of their 
superiors in all that is not sin, so that by 
the command of these, as by the voice of 
God, they may be directed to do in all 
things the will of their heavenly Father. 
The Life of a Religious is One of Su- 
preme Joy and Blessing. — Why do people 
leave the world and enter the religious 
state! Some, because they have grown 
tired of the world's care and turmoil, and 
wish to live the remainder of their lives 
in homes of peace and delightful de- 
votion. Others, because by ardent love 
for Christ they are drawn almost irresisti- 
bly to live in His presence, near to His al- 
tar throne, and to consecrate their lives to 
His love, service, and adoration. By far 
the greater number of religious, however, 
are living that life not only because it 
makes their own salvation more certain 
and their sanctiflcation more Christlike, 
but also because it enables them to labor 



To Follow Their Vocation 217 

more effectively in the work of saving and 
sanctifying others. Excepting the priests 
of the Catholic Church, no class of persons 
living on earth have done more to save 
people from sin and ruin, and to increase 
their sanctity here and their glory here- 
after than the religious. Through the 
zealous endeavor of religious brothers and 
sisters, millions of children are being saved 
to the Church and to God, and other mil- 
lions are being educated to live holier and 
more Christlike lives. More than this, 
our Catholic schools and the children who 
attend them are wielding an irresistible 
Christianizing influence over the homes 
and over the communities at large, such 
as is turning the minds and the hearts of 
the people daily more and more unto Christ 
and His holy Church, and the sanctify- 
ing power for good thereby exerted will 
continue with increasing force down 
through the countless generations of the 
future. 

A beautiful illustration of this is found 
in the life of Mother Caroline of Mil- 
waukee. In her biography we read: "It 
was, above all, her ardent, faith-inspired 
love of children that gained their hearts 
and exercised an irresistible influence over 



218 Educating the Children 

their affections. Thus did she uncon- 
sciously attract young girls, and inspire 
them with a wish to become Sisters.' ' As 
a result, the number of persons attracted 
by her to the religious state undoubtedly 
reached the hundreds; while the number 
which her spiritual children have drawn 
to religion is, even at the present time, far 
greater. 

Besides the teaching communities, there 
are others which devote their self-sacrific- 
ing endeavor to works of charity and mercy 
in hospitals and asylums. Here by their 
kindly treatment of the afflicted, by their 
hopeful words and prayerful hearts, they 
are instrumental in reforming almost 
countless lives and in saving a vast num- 
ber of souls. 

The graces and blessings of the true 
religious are innumerable. St. Bernard 
mentions a few : ' ' They live more purely ; 
they fall more rarely; they rise more 
speedily ; they are aided more powerfully ; 
they live more peacefully; they die more 
securely; and they are rewarded more 
abundantly .' ' St. Augustine, speaking of 
the religious life, declares: "Yes; I have 
been passionately fond of the perfection of 
the evangelical counsels; with God's grace 



To Follow Their Vocation 219 

I have embraced them. With all the power 
I have, I exhort others to do the same; 
and I have companions whom I have suc- 
ceeded in persuading. ' ' These should be 
the sentiments, and this the endeavor of 
every religious, and especially of every 
priest who has at heart the welfare of the 
Church and the salvation and sanctifica- 
tion of his fellow men. 

A Vocation to the Religious Life Should 
not he Neglected. — It should be followed 
promptly and according to God's manifest 
will. "When God gives such vocations,' ' 
says St. John Chrysostom, as quoted by St. 
Thomas, "He wills that we should not de- 
fer even for a moment to follow them ; 
for, when the devil can not bring a person 
to give up his resolution of consecrating 
himself to God, he at least seeks to make 
him defer the execution of it; and he es- 
teems it a great gain if he can obtain the 
delay of one day, or even of one hour." 
"Because," continues St. Liguori, "after 
that day, or that hour, other occasions pre- 
senting themselves, it will be less difficult 
for the devil to obtain greater delay, until 
the person, finding himself more feeble, and 
less assisted by grace, gives way alto- 
gether, and loses his vocation." 



220 Educating the Children 

Parents Should Foster the Vocations of 
Their Children to the Religious Life. — 
Such a vocation comes from God as a bless- 
ing, and therefore is to be accepted by the 
parents submissively and even joyfully. 
Every encouragement should be given and 
every possible help offered which will serve 
to induce and enable those called to do the 
will of God as manifest. They need this 
help. No matter how good their disposi- 
tion may be or how noble their character, 
they are nevertheless most changeable and 
most easily inclined by every influence. 
They must be saved from sin, sanctified by 
grace, educated in divine truth, and con- 
firmed in Christian virtue. Their vocations 
must be preserved and fostered and fol- 
lowed. In as far as parents realize their 
duty in this and voluntarily neglect to ful- 
fil it, they become responsible before God, 
not only for their own children, but also 
for the innumerable souls which these 
would directly or indirectly save. In re- 
gard to the sinfulness of such conduct, St. 
Liguori gives the following doctrine as 
taught by theologians in general: " Par- 
ents, who without a just and certain cause, 
prevent their children from entering the 
religious state, can not be excused from 



To Follow Their Vocation 221 

mortal sin; and not only parents, but any 
one who prevents another from following a 
religions vocation, sins mortally.' ' 

In no case have parents any right to pre- 
vent their child from following a true voca- 
tion, and even if they strive to do this the 
child is not bound to obey their command 
or to observe their prohibition. When 
there is question of conflicting injunctions, 
God is to be obeyed rather than parents. 

Pastors Should Encourage Religious Vo- 
cations, — Every priest entrusted with the 
care of souls should find out those who 
manifest aptitude for the religious life, and 
should seek so to dispose and sanctify 
them that the desired call may be given 
and followed. When he finds one who evi- 
dently has a true vocation, he should see 
that this vocation is followed with scrupu- 
lous exactness. Moreover, he should make 
his people thoroughly familiar with the mo- 
tives, the principles, and the blessings of 
the religious life; and he should induce 
them, not only to join as one in prayer to 
the Lord that He may send more laborers 
into His harvest, but also with united ef- 
fort to encourage and assist in every way 
possible those who are called to follow the 
vocations given. 



222 Children and Their Vocation 

4. The Priesthood. So fundamentally 
and essentially important to the Church 
and its individual members is a right un- 
derstanding and appreciation of this state 
of life, that a special chapter will be de- 
voted solely to its consideration. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

FOSTERING VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD 

The Work of Salvation is the Work of 
Christ. — Before His death, He accom- 
plished all chiefly through Himself. After 
His ascension, He chose to use the mem- 
bers of His Church as instruments to co- 
operate with Him in His endeavor to save 
and sanctify the human race. Of this 
work, each Catholic has a part. No one 
is exempt from the obligation of assisting 
in maintaining and establishing Christ's 
kingdom on earth. There are in the 
Church, however, many special duties, such 
as teaching and directing the faithful and 
administering the sacraments. For the 
performance of these duties, He has se- 
lected certain persons and called them to 
consecrate their lives and to devote their 
entire efforts to His service. He has 
given to these favored ones a vocation to 
the priesthood. 

The Priesthood Was Instituted by Christ 
223 



224 Fostering Vocations 

Himself. — From the multitude that fol- 
lowed Him, He chose His apostles. At the 
Last Supper He ordained them priests to 
offer sacrifice. After His resurrection He 
commissioned them to go forth and to teach 
and sanctify all nations. He promised to 
be with them all days, even to the consum- 
mation of the world. The priesthood, 
therefore, will continue to exist on earth till 
the last day. Without it, the holy sacrifice 
of the Mass would not be offered, the sacra- 
ments would not be administered, the word 
of God would not be preached to the 
faithful, and the true religion would soon 
disappear. It is principally through the 
priesthood that Christ continues to main- 
tain and establish His kingdom; and it is 
through those who have entered this state, 
that is, through the priests of His holy 
Church, that He is accomplishing His 
greatest achievements in the work of sal- 
vation and sanctification. Truly have they 
been called other Christs, for none are 
more Christlike in the duties to be per- 
formed, or in dignity or in power than the 
duly ordained priest. 

To Enter the Priesthood a Special Voca- 
tion is Necessary. — Referring to the 
priesthood, St. Paul says : ' ' Neither doth 



To the Priesthood 225 

any man take the honor to himself, but he 
that was called by God, as Aaron was." 
Christ, speaking of this, said to His apos- 
tles: "You have not chosen Me; but I 
have chosen you, and have appointed you, 
that you should go, and should bring forth 
fruit, and your fruit should remain." 

Christ gives a special vocation to those 
whom He wills to enter the priesthood. 
He knows perfectly what work is to be 
done, and by whom He has designed it to 
be accomplished. He calls these particu- 
lar persons in preference to others to come 
and follow Him, to leave all things, and 
to co-operate with Him in the work of His 
kingdom. If they heed His call, and strive 
as best they can to do His will, then He 
invariably gives all graces needed to enable 
them to perform the duties imposed ex- 
actly as He desires these to be done, and 
He is with them at all times prompting, di- 
recting, assisting, and crowning their en- 
deavor with success. 

No One Should Enter the Priesthood 
Without Such a Vocation. — So holy should 
be the life of a priest, so entirely should 
it be consecrated to the service of Christ, 
so numerous and sacred are its duties, so 
perilous and incessant are the dangers 



226 Fostering Vocations 

which beset the way, that no one should 
presume to live this life unless he feels 
certain that he has received a special call, 
and therefore has been promised the 
needed grace. From experience, however, 
it is sometimes found that, for one reason 
or another, young men who manifestly 
have no vocation enter the seminary and 
pursue their studies for the priesthood. 
These make a sad and often an irreparable 
mistake. They may not realize this until 
it is too late ; or if they do realize it, pre- 
vailing influences and conditions may in- 
duce them not to turn back, but recklessly 
to continue on heedless of consequence. 
As a result lives, which, if lived in the 
world, might have been successful, honor- 
able, and Catholic, are wrecked, rendered 
not only useless, but, perhaps, disgrace- 
fully degrading; and all this simply be- 
cause these persons started out in life on 
the wrong career and either did not have 
sense enough to discover their mistake, 
or else sufficient moral courage to turn 
back and live as God had intended. It has 
been said, and with reason, that far more 
harm is done to the Church by ordaining 
one bad priest, than by keeping from the 
seminary ten who would be worthy. 



To the Priesthood 227 

Hence no young man who has any habit of 
mortal sin which he will not and does not 
break up, should be encouraged to study 
for the priesthood or should be allowed to 
receive Holy Orders. In fact, it is most 
unwise, even wrong, to encourage anyone 
to aspire to the priesthood whose character 
is not thoroughly known and whose worthi- 
ness is not reasonably certain. 

A Vocation to the Priesthood May be 
Lost. — Of this there is no doubt. When- 
ever this happens, Christ's design in re- 
gard to the individual is frustrated, much 
of His work is left undone, and, conse- 
quently, many souls are in all probability 
lost. This should not occur, and in many 
cases it would not occur if priests and 
parents would awake from their indiffer- 
ence and want of zeal and exert themselves 
as they should in discovering and foster- 
ing the vocations of those under their 
charge. When a true vocation has been 
given, it should be recognized and pre- 
served as such. 

The Reality of This Vocation Must be 
Determined. — How can we most surely find 
out whether a vocation to the priesthood 
is truly from Christ or not? Those most 
thoroughly versed in this subject usually 



228 Fostering Vocations 

give as certain marks of a true vocation 
three qualifications ; namely, the necessary 
ability, a sincere desire, and a pure inten- 
tion. 

1. The Necessary Ability. No one can 
reasonably be supposed to have a vocation 
to the priesthood unless he possesses the 
ability necessarily required for perform- 
ing efficiently its proper duties. It is true, 
Christ's power is infinite, and hence He 
could accomplish any purpose as success- 
fully through the most defective of instru- 
ments as through the noblest and best. 
Still, ordinarily speaking, this is not His 
way. He chooses for His work those who, 
considering all things, are best qualified 
and disposed. Eecognizing this fact, the 
Church has in its canon law definite rules 
which prohibit certain persons from re- 
ceiving Holy Orders. The reason is that 
it wishes to procure for the service of 
Christ the best available material and tal- 
ent, the perfection of true manhood. That 
its legislation was guided by the Spirit of 
God, there is no doubt ; and hence the pru- 
dent pastor will follow this wisely. He 
will not, however, reject at once all to 
whom the disqualifying laws of the Church 
apply, but he will demand from each of 



To the Priesthood 229 

these some extraordinary evidence of a 
true vocation. 

The ability required is physical, intel- 
lectual, and moral. Physically, the one as- 
piring to the priesthood should be able to 
perform properly and becomingly all nec- 
essary duties. As to intellectual require- 
ments, he should have sufficient talent to 
be able to qualify himself thoroughly for 
his work and to accomplish this efficiently. 
This principle, however, should not be 
too rigorously applied. Some who were 
termed dull in the grammar school, have 
made a creditable showing in the college 
and seminary; and some who were consid- 
ered "minus habens" as students, have ac- 
complished great and lasting achievement 
in the work of salvation. Of such was the 
Cure of Ars. Even the great theologian, 
Suarez, belonged to the same class. So in- 
tellectually deficient was he considered to 
be by his superiors, that the advisability 
of promoting him to Holy Orders was 
called into serious doubt. Many other ex- 
amples might be given; and yet, they are 
but exceptions. Generally speaking, the 
principle given above is to be followed as 
true. 

This intellectual ability required need 



230 Fostering Vocations 

not necessarily be extraordinarily great; 
but there is one quality which above all it 
should possess, namely, common sense. 
Cardinal Gibbons, in the "Ambassador of 
Christ," most truly says: "Experience 
shows that solid judgment, with moderate 
though sufficient attainment, is far more 
serviceable to religion than brilliant talents 
combined with a deficiency in practical 
sense. The occasions for the display of 
genius are rare; the opportunities for the 
exercise of mother-wit and discretion oc- 
cur every hour of the day. Archbishop 
Spalding, whenever a student applied for 
adoption into his archdiocese, was accus- 
tomed to make this inquiry concerning 
him, 'Has he common sense?' 

"If the foregoing qualities of mind are 
supplemented by earnestness of manner, 
by force of character, strength of will, te- 
nacity of purpose, and by a serious view of 
the path of duty that lies before him, the 
devout student will have a well-grounded 
hope to become a 'fit minister of the New 
Covenant.' " 

Far more important than physical apti- 
tude or intellectual ability, however, is a 
proper moral qualification. When consid- 
ering the moral fitness of one aspiring to 



To the Priesthood 231 

the priesthood, the law of heredity should 
be taken into serious account. "If you 
wish to raise a good boy, you must com- 
mence with the grandmother, ' ' says an old 
proverb. Too little attention is given to 
this fact by the generality of people. We 
need, above all, saintly persons in the 
priesthood, and boys are seldom more 
saintly than their mothers. Hence the 
children of parents who are given to im- 
morality or drunkenness, or even to exces- 
sive worldliness, seldom have true relig- 
ious vocations. If the parents, however, 
especially the mother, are more than ordi- 
narily Catholic in life, and if the boy or 
young man who aspires to the priesthood 
is himself living a life virtuous above 
suspicion and devoutly prayerful, then it is 
only just to believe that his vocation is 
truly from God. 

2. A Sincere Desire. No one should be 
advanced to Holy Orders who has not a 
sincere desire to receive that sacrament. 
This desire, moreover, should be no mere 
spasmodic act of the will, felt only on im- 
pressive and inspiring occasions. It must 
be an abiding inclination of the soul to- 
ward the priesthood, with a yearning to 
enter that state and to perform its duties. 



232 Fostering Vocations 

Those who feel such a desire should be 
filled with the sentiments of Saul and 
eagerly ask, "Lord, what wilt thou have 
me do?" 

3. A Pure Intention. The desire to en- 
ter the priesthood which is required for a 
true vocation is not only real and abiding, 
but it also springs from a pure intention. 
It is a heavenly affection for Christ, with 
an ardent desire to procure the salvation 
of souls and the glory of God by laboring 
in His service and for His Church. The 
one who feels no desire such as this, who 
finds no delight in retirement, in study, 
prayer, and devotion, who has no personal 
love for Christ and no zeal for His holy 
cause, may with just reason be said to have 
no vocation from God. If he is actuated 
by any real desire, it is generally by the 
spirit of avarice or of unlawful ambition, 
and no prudent priest will give the least 
encouragement to his aspirations. 

But there is no need of questioning the 
vocation of one whose parents are practi- 
cally religious and whose own life is con- 
sistently Catholic, who is free from habit 
of mortal sin and earnestly striving to 
avoid even those which are venial, who 
shuns the occasion of sin and detests all 



To the Priesthood 233 

vileness of speech, who is careful about 
prayer, loves to be present at Mass, espe- 
cially to serve it, and to receive the sacra- 
ments frequently, who finds delight in the 
reading of Catholic books and stories, 
whose heart swells with emotion as he 
learns of heroic deeds done by those who 
have sacrificed all for the cause of Christ, 
who yearns to do at least something in the 
work of establishing Christ's kingdom in 
the souls of all, who regards the priest- 
hood as a state in which more can be ac- 
complished for the salvation of man, for 
personal sanctification, and for the glory 
of God than in any other, who " would 
choose to be an abject in the house of God, 
rather than to dwell in the tabernacle of 
sinners," and who feels with certain con- 
viction that he has received a divine call to 
come and follow the Saviour by leading the 
priestly life. The one who has a character 
of this kind and is living in this manner, 
who is imbued with these sentiments and 
prompted by these motives to consecrate 
his entire being to the service of Christ, 
has, beyond all shadow of doubt, a true 
vocation from God. 

Such a call comes immediately from on 
high and such dispositions, at least in their 



234 Fostering Vocations 

germinal state, are implanted in the soul 
by the divine hand. Those who are 
chosen, however, may remain even for 
years unconscious of their vocation, al- 
though during all this time God may be 
directing their endeavor to its fulfilment, 
using as secondary agents pastors, par- 
ents, associates, and Christianizing influ- 
ences, to foster the germs of sanctity im- 
planted, to dispose these chosen ones 
rightly for following the call given, and 
to qualify them for the faithful perform- 
ance of the priesthood's sacred duties. 

Vocations to the Priesthood Should he 
Discovered and Fostered. — How may this 
best be done? Since at the present time 
"the harvest is great, but the laborers are 
few," that is, priests are unable to ac- 
complish all the work of salvation which 
is to be done, and since, as a consequence, 
many souls are being lost to the Church 
and to Christ, it necessarily follows that 
this question is one of vital and supreme 
importance. Many answers have been 
given, but none, perhaps, which appeal 
more strongly, especially to us Americans, 
than that of the Third Plenary Council of 
Baltimore. While treating of this subject 
it gave the following most practical, and 



To the Priesthood 235 

at the same time, most inspiring exhorta- 
tion: 

"Since a priest usually is, in after life, 
what he gave promise of becoming in 
youth, it is certainly of great importance 
that the future ministers of the Church, 
from their tenderest years, should be well 
grounded in piety and learning by the most 
careful study. Wherefore we exhort in 
the Lord and earnestly entreat pastors 
and other priests that they diligently de- 
vote their attention to the boys committed 
to their care, searching after and finding 
out such as are fit for the ecclesiastical 
state and seem to be called to it. If they 
find any boys of good disposition, of pious 
inclination, of devout and generous minds, 
who are able to learn, and of whom it may 
be reasonably hoped that they will serve 
God continually in the sacred ministry, 
they should nourish the zeal of such; they 
should assiduously foster these precious 
germs of vocation ; out of paternal charity 
they should instruct these boys in piety 
and in the elements of knowledge, incite 
them to study, and solicitously shield them 
from the contagion of the world; they 
should admonish the parents to incline re- 
ligiously toward the ecclesiastical state 



236 Fostering Vocations 

their sons who show signs of a religious 
vocation. Finally priests should endeavor 
to remove those obstacles which often arise 
from the poverty of the family." 

1. In following these instructions, it 
should be borne clearly in mind that, as a 
general rule, these young persons are not 
supposed to know with any kind of cer- 
tainty whether they are called to the relig- 
ious life or not. They should be directed 
in their decision by the wise counsel of 
some zealous, experienced priest or con- 
fessor. No priest should attempt to ful- 
fill this duty, however, unless he knows 
definitely how to discern the true marks of 
a divine vocation. 

2. In brief, these are a "good disposi- 
tion, pious inclination, devout and gener- 
ous mind, and an ability to learn.' ' In 
other words, the aspirant to the priest- 
hood should have a "good disposition"; 
that is, he should be descended from virtu- 
ous parents. He should have ' ' a pious in- 
clination"; that is, he should be free from 
vicious, or at least mortally sinful habits 
and living a life Catholic above suspicion. 
He should have "a generous mind"; that 
is, he should delight in prayer and in the 
frequent reception of holy communion; he 



To the Priesthood 237 

should be willing to labor for the cause 
of Christ, and even anxious to do things 
heroic for man's salvation and God's 
glory. He should have "an ability to 
learn," such as will enable him to qualify 
himself adequately for the efficient accom- 
plishment of the priesthood's proper 
work. If the vocation is truly divine and 
present, these qualities are certainly pos- 
sessed and discernible; and those having 
them may be justly regarded as fit for the 
priesthood. 

3. The true and zealous priest will not 
only find out those who are called to this 
life, but he will also devote to them special 
care. He will make their personal ac- 
quaintance, win their confidence, talk with 
them privately but informally about fu- 
ture plans, inspire and encourage good 
endeavor, and lead them on to the ac- 
complishment of Christ's design in their 
regard. More than this, he will bring 
them to realize their true relation to God, 
that God chooses them from among the 
people and calls them to a special work, 
not because of their own natural excel- 
lency, but out of loving condescension, 
and that this call, being a true vocation, 
must be followed at any cost and in strict 



238 Fostering Vocations 

accord with the divine will. Even more, 
he will induce them to esteem their vocation 
as the greatest blessing they could receive, 
and so to treasure this that it will not be 
lost. To render their vocation more cer- 
tainly secure, he will persuade them to as- 
sociate with the best of companions, to 
read the most Catholic of literature, to be 
prayerful in life with special and tender 
devotion to the Blessed Virgin, to assist at 
Mass not only on Sundays and holydays, 
but whenever they can, and above all to re- 
ceive holy communion as frequently and 
fervently as possible. 

4. He will strive, as best he can, to 
protect those who have a vocation to the 
priesthood from the contagion of sin and 
the peril of its influence. If he fails to 
do this, his other endeavors will prove 
fruitless. For unless the passionate fond- 
ness of our young people for society and 
their ravenous appetite for reading are 
rightly controlled and directed, they will 
lead to loss of vocation, and in some cases 
to spiritual ruin. No matter how noble 
the youth may be or how Christlike in his 
ways, the long continued influence of evil 
companions and literature will slowly but 



To the Priesthood 239 

surely change his life into the image and 
likeness of their own ideal. 

5. The education of those aspiring to 
the priesthood must be rightly conducted 
and directed. Their studies should be 
such as will best prepare them for life's 
future work. The school which they 
attend should be the most efficient and most 
thoroughly Catholic available. Its very 
atmosphere should be congenial and condu- 
cive to the formation of the priestly life. 

6. The parents should be brought to co- 
operate with the priest in the work of fos- 
tering vocations to the priesthood. They 
should be zealously and regularly admon- 
ished that any child of theirs who has a 
vocation should be religiously inclined and 
judiciously encouraged to follow it. Too 
often do priests fail in this duty, and par- 
ents remain as if unmindful of its obliga- 
tion. Consequently, the number of those 
who at the present time are entering the 
priesthood is lamentably small. The Third 
Plenary Council of Baltimore, dwelling at 
length on this point, says: "We fear that 
the fault lies in great part with many par- 
ents who, instead of fostering the desire, 
so natural to the young heart, of dedica- 



240 Fostering Vocations 

ting itself to the sanctuary, but too often 
impart to their children their own worldly- 
mindedness, and seek to influence their 
choice of a state of life by unduly exag- 
gerating the difficulties and dangers of the 
priestly calling, and painting in too glow- 
ing colors the advantages of a secular life. 
To such parents we would most earnestly 
appeal, imploring them not to interfere 
with the designs of God on their children, 
when they perceive in them a growing dis- 
position to attach themselves to the service 
of the altar. 

"If God rewards the youthful piety of 
your sons by calling them to minister in 
His sanctuary, the highest privilege He 
confers on man, do not endeavor to give 
their thought another direction. Do not 
present to your children the priesthood in 
any other light than as a sublime state, 
having, indeed, most sacred duties and 
most serious obligations, but also having 
the promise of God's grace to strengthen 
and sustain human weakness in their ful- 
filment, and the divine blessing here and 
hereafter as a reward. To those whom 
God invites to co-operate with Him in the 
most sublime of all works, the salvation of 
souls, the words of Christ to His apostles 



To the Priesthood 241 

are applicable: 'Amen, I say to you, that 
you who have followed Me in the regenera- 
tion, when the Son of man shall sit on the 
seat of His Majesty, you also shall sit on 
the twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel; and every one that hath left 
home, or brothers and sisters, or father or 
mother, or wife or children, or lands, for 
My name's sake, shall receive a hundred- 
fold, and shall possess life everlasting.' " 

There is no doubt that inestimable good 
would be accomplished if during the year 
each pastor would give a formal sermon on 
the question of vocation, as also on the dig- 
nity and blessing of the priestly and 
religious life. If this were done, the 
admonitions of the council quoted would be 
effectively brought home both to parents 
and children and made productive of great 
and eternal good. 

7. Financial aid, when needed, should 
be afforded to those having a true voca- 
tion. The priest should manage in some 
way to have removed every obstacle aris- 
ing from poverty which would prevent 
those certainly called to the religious life 
from following their vocation. The 
Church from the beginning has been estab- 
lished and maintained largely through the 



242 Fostering Vocations 

labors and self-sacrifice of the poor. They 
have been its most efficient workers and 
have accomplished its greatest achieve- 
ments. Hence the Church should not per- 
mit poverty, or want of material means to 
discourage or prevent any one from fol- 
lowing his vocation to the priesthood. In 
each particular case, if God gives the voca- 
tion, He will likewise make it possible for 
this to be followed. The financial aid re- 
quired can by some means be secured. 
This means should be discovered by the 
priest. He should willingly co-operate 
with God in this work. Generally, if 
rightly appealed to, the family and rela- 
tives, or at least friends and fellow parish- 
ioners, will gladly join in giving all needed 
assistance. 

8. The priest should attract others to 
the priesthood by his own personality. He 
should strive to live a life so truly Christ- 
like that his character will be manifest as 
being beautifully and delightfully Catholic. 
The young love to see realized in them- 
selves an ideal. Hence there is no doubt 
that the number of those entering the 
priesthood would be doubled, even trebled, 
if we who are now living the priestly life 
would endeavor scrupulously and contin- 



To the Priesthood 243 

ually to live before God and man as 
" other Christs." Then the young would 
be filled with respect, reverence, and love 
for the priest and his sacred office; and, 
drawn by personal attraction, they would 
feel a yearning desire to become like unto 
us. 

9. The priest should pray that voca- 
tions be given to those who are worthy. 
"The harvest indeed is great, but the la- 
borers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the 
Lord of the harvest that He send forth 
laborers into His harvest. ' ' These are the 
words of Christ, and the zealous priest 
will not permit them to pass unnoticed. 
He will pray for this intention frequently, 
fervently, and devoutly, especially during 
the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Even more, 
he will exhort the faithful to join with him 
in this prayer, supplicating God that vo- 
cations be given to their children and fol- 
lowed until death with truest fidelity. 

The Fostering of Vocations is a Work 
Fraught with Countless Blessings. — There 
is no work more meritorious than this, 
none more productive of vast and eternal 
good, and none which gives greater joy and 
consolation. Words can not adequately 
express the real satisfaction and happi- 



244 Fostering Vocations 

ness, honor and eternal glory, given to 
those who labor faithfully in the work of 
preserving and fostering vocations to the 
religions life, and especially to the priest- 
hood. 

When speaking of this subject, Arch- 
bishop Lynch of Toronto used to say : i ' The 
average priest secures the salvation of five 
thousand souls.' ' The more thoroughly 
and minutely this statement is examined, 
the more manifest becomes its truthful- 
ness. Hence the priest who secures but 
one successor to his sacred office has a per- 
ennial source of hope and consolation dur- 
ing his declining years, such as is particu- 
larly inspiring at the moment of death. 
But, why should any priest rest content 
with having secured one? The more the 
better. It is related of an aged and ven- 
erable priest of Orleans, France, that when 
about to die he gave expression to this 
beautiful thought: "I am eighty-three 
and shall soon die. I have not done all the 
good I would, but one thing consoles me — 
I leave after me thirty-three priests whom 
I have formed to the ecclesiastical state; 
they will do better than I have done. ' ' 

Some years later, one of these thirty- 
three, on the occasion of his silver jubilee 



To the Priesthood 245 

to the priesthood, had gathered around 
him twenty-five other priests, whose voca- 
tions to the religious state he in turn had 
fostered. To him his pastor had said on 
the day of ordination: "Always have pu- 
pils in your presbytery; you will be their 
angel, and they will be yours." (Quest. 
on Vocations.) Would that God might in- 
spire more to emulate the zeal of such 
priests as these. 

Comparatively few dioceses can be 
found which are not in actual need of more 
religious workers who have consecrated 
their lives to the service of Christ. Pas- 
tors are petitioning the various religious 
communities for Sisters and Brothers to 
teach in the parish schools. Bishops, es- 
pecially those of the West and South, as 
also of our newly acquired possessions in 
the Orient, are appealing for priests to 
take charge of missionary work. "Send 
us priests, wise, zealous, holy priests," 
comes as a cry almost universal. Vast 
multitudes in every land are groping amid 
the darkness of error and in the shadows 
of death, seeking for some one to lead 
them forth into the light of truth and unto 
the life of Christ. This need is both in- 
stant and imperative, and unless there are 



246 Fostering Vocations 

found some followers of Christ, ardently 
devoted to His Church and nobly obedient 
to His call, who will voluntarily offer 
themselves for this service and consecrate 
their lives to this endeavor, these benighted 
ones, so unfortunate in their error, so well 
disposed for the right, so precious in the 
sight of God, will continue, in all probabil- 
ity, to search in vain for the way of salva- 
tion; and at least many of them, will be 
lost. "The harvest indeed is great but the 
laborers are few." The work to be done 
is the work of Christ. He is present all 
days, directing and assisting and blessing. 
He calls for help. He chooses some fa- 
vored ones from among His followers and 
commands them to go forth into the high- 
ways and byways and search out laborers 
and bring them into His vineyard. Some 
are found who leave this command practi- 
cally unheeded, not from malice, but rather 
because they do not thoroughly realize how 
intense is the desire of Christ for addi- 
tional laborers in His work and how dire is 
the need of the Church at the present time 
for their consecrated service. Thrice 
blessed, therefore, and well assured of eter- 
nal happiness is the priest who can truth- 
fully say at the hour of death: "I shall 



To the Priesthood 247 

soon die; I have not done all the good I 
would, but one thing consoles me — I leave 
after me others whom I have formed to the 
priestly life; they will do better than I 
have done." 



APPENDIX 

ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF PIUS X, 
BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE POPE 

TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH 
ON THE TEACHING OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 

To His Venerable Brothers, the Patriarchs, 
Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and 
other Ordinaries having peace and union 
with the Apostolic See, Pius P. P. X. 
sends Greeting and Benediction. 
Venerable Brothers: 

In this extremely distressing and difficult 
time, the hidden designs of God have im- 
posed on our slender strength the office of 
Supreme Pastor over the universal flock 
of Christ. The hardship is great, because 
the enemy has long been prowling around 
the flock and with subtile cunning has en- 
deavored to bring havoc upon it, succeed- 
ing to such an extent that more than ever, 
what the Apostle wrote to the ancients of 
the Church of Ephesus, seems to be real- 
249 



250 Appendix 

ized: "I know that ravening wolves will 
enter among you, not sparing the flock' ' 
(Acts xx. 29). 

Those among us who are prompted by 
zeal for the glory of God and who seek 
the reasons for the present decay of re- 
ligion, ascribe it to various causes; and 
each, according to his own views, adopts 
different methods in the endeavor to pro- 
tect and restore the kingdom of God on 
earth. To Us, Venerable Brethren, with- 
out rejecting the opinions of others, it 
seems that we must agree with the judg- 
ment of those who attribute the remiss- 
ness, or rather the intellectual debility of 
our times, as the condition from which such 
grave evils arise, chiefly to ignorance of 
divine things. There seems to be in our 
day a recurrence of what God said by the 
mouth of the Prophet Oseas: " There is 
no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing 
and lying and killing and theft have over- 
flowed, and blood hath touched blood. 
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every 
one that dwelleth in it shall languish' ' 
(Osee iv. 1-3). 

In fact, in our age it is a common and 
alas! not an unjust complaint, that there 
are a great many Christian people who are 



Appendix 251 

in the densest ignorance about what con- 
cerns their eternal salvation. When we 
say Christian people, we do not refer to 
the humbler classes, who often may find 
an excuse for their ignorance in the fact 
that the hard rule of their harsh masters 
does not leave them the opportunity to at- 
tend to themselves or the disposal of their 
time. We speak rather and especially of 
those who are not lacking in intellectual 
culture, nay, who are often notably con- 
spicuous for their knowledge of profane 
science, but who pass their lives in thought- 
less unconcern about religious matters. It 
is difficult to describe the dense darkness in 
which these are involved, and, what is 
worse, the heedlessness in which they live. 
Of God, the Supreme Ruler and Author of 
all things, and of the teaching of Chris- 
tianity, they have no thought whatever. 
They know nothing of the Incarnation; 
nothing of God's perfect renovation of the 
human race; nothing of grace, which is 
especially required for the attainment of 
things eternal ; nothing of the august sacri- 
fice of the Mass, or of the sacraments by 
which we acquire and retain divine grace. 
Of the wickedness and foulness of sin they 
have no appreciation, and hence no care to 



252 Appendix 

avoid or ta withdraw from it. They ar- 
rive even at the portals of death in such 
a condition that the priest, instead of de- 
voting those last moments to fostering 
sentiments of love of God in the soul, is 
compelled, in order not to dispel all hope 
of salvation, to sum up and teach the very 
elements of religious truth. Often, it is 
not even thus ; and, as too frequently hap- 
pens, the dying man, in his reprehensible 
ignorance, regards the ministrations of 
the priest as unnecessary, and persuades 
himself that with tranquil mind he can 
enter on the dreadful road to eternity and 
face the anger of God, whom he has not 
thought it necessary to propitiate. Fit- 
tingly has it been said by Our Predecessor, 
Benedict XIV: "We declare, that the 
greater part of those who are eternally 
lost, have brought this calamity on them- 
selves by their ignorance of those mys- 
teries of faith which they should have 
known and believed in order to be united 
with the elect.' ' 

Hence, Venerable Brothers, why should 
we wonder that not only among savage 
people, but even in those nations which 
are still spoken of as being Christian, there 
should be such widespread and ever in- 



Appendix 253 

creasing corruption of morals and such 
depravity of life! The Apostle Paul, writ- 
ing to the Ephesians, said: ' i Fornication, 
and all uncleanness and covetousness, let 
it not be so much as named among you, as 
becomes saints; or obscenity or foolish 
talking" (Eph. v. 3, 4). 

Now, the foundation of this holiness and 
purity of soul, which are to hold evil de- 
sires in check, is, as the Apostle declared, 
the knowledge of divine things: "See, 
therefore, brethren, how you walk circum- 
spectly, not as unwise, but as wise. There- 
fore become not unwise, but understanding 
what is the will of God" (Eph. v. 15-17). 

This is but right. For scarcely does the 
will of man now retain even that love of 
right and justice which was implanted in 
the human heart by the almighty Creator, 
and which was intended to lead to the true 
good, and not to that which is only a 
shadow. This human will, thus depraved 
by the primal fault and forgetful of God, 
its Maker, directs everything to the culti- 
vation of vanity and to the pursuit of false- 
hood. Blinded as it is by wicked desires, 
surely it needs a guide to lead it in the 
ways of justice, which unfortunately have 
been abandoned. 



254 Appendix 

The natural guide, of course, is the hu- 
man mind; but if the mind has not its 
proper light, that is, the knowledge of di- 
vine things, it will be the blind leading the 
blind, ending only in the ditch. The holy 
King David, while praising God for the 
light of truth with which He had illumined 
the intellect, exclaimed: "The light of 
Thy countenance, Lord, is signed upon 
us." And he signified what was to follow 
from the possession of this gift of light, 
when he added: "Thou hast given glad- 
ness in my heart" (Ps. iv. 7) ; that is, a 
gladness with which the heart is dilated 
when it keeps in the way of God's com- 
mandments. 

Whoever considers this will perceive 
how true it is that Christian truth, more 
perfectly than merely natural powers, 
shows us the nature of God and His infinite 
perfections. 

Why should this not be so? Christian 
truth bids us revere almighty God by 
faith, which is an act of the mind ; by hope, 
which is an act of the will; by charity, 
which is an act of the heart; and thus it 
subjects the whole man to the supreme 
Author and Ruler. In the same way, the 
doctrine of Jesus Christ unfolds for us the 



Appendix 255 

true nobility of human nature, inasmuch 
as it reveals man to be the son of the 
heavenly Father, after whose likeness He 
is made, and offers to Him an eternal and 
glorious reward. But from this very dig- 
nity with which man is invested and from 
our knowledge of it, Christ wishes us to 
learn that we should love one another, and 
that we should live as behooves the sons 
of light, "not in rioting and drunkenness, 
not in chamberings and impurities, not in 
contention and envy" (Rom. xiii. 13). 

He likewise enjoins us to cast all our 
care upon God, knowing that He will pro- 
vide for us. Moreover, not to speak of 
all these things in detail, does not the 
teaching of Christ appeal to the proud and 
command them to cultivate that humility 
of soul which is the origin of true glory? 
"Whosoever, therefore, shall humble him- 
self, he is the greater in the kingdom of 
heaven" (Matt, xviii. 4). His doctrine 
teaches us that prudence of the spirit 
which wards off the prudence of the flesh ; 
that justice which gives unto each his own ; 
that fortitude which makes us ready to 
bear all things and with resolute heart to 
suffer for the sake of God and our eternal 
salvation. Finally, it teaches that tern- 



256 Appendix 

perance by which, for the sake of the king- 
dom of God, we even love poverty, nay, by 
which we " glory in the cross of Christ, 
despising the shame.' ' Hence it follows, 
that not only does Christian teaching il- 
lumine the mind and enable it to attain the 
truth, but it also inflames the will and en- 
kindles that ardor which impels us to 
aspire to God and to unite ourselves with 
Him by the exercise of every virtue. 

It is not Our purpose to assert, that de- 
pravity of the heart is inconsistent with 
the knowledge of religious truth. Would 
that facts did not prove the contrary ! But 
We do say, that, where the mind is en- 
veloped in the dark clouds of ignorance, 
there can be neither rectitude nor moral- 
ity. It is true a man with eyes open can 
turn away from the right path, but the one 
who is blind is constantly in danger of do- 
ing so. Moreover, when the light of faith 
is not wholly extinct, there is always a 
hope of reformation ; depravity of morals 
united with ignorance of truth, however, 
has scarcely any remedy, and leaves open 
the road leading to ruin. 

Since, on the one hand, the evils result- 
ing from ignorance are so numerous and 
serious, and since, on the other, religious 



Appendix 257 

instruction is so much needed and so help- 
ful, any one hopes in vain to fulfill his duty 
unless he knows what that duty is. Let us 
now stop • to consider on whom the task 
devolves to do away with this fatal igno- 
rance, and to impart to men's minds that 
knowledge which it is so necessary to pos- 
sess. 

As to the ones on whom it devolves, Ven- 
erable Brothers, there is no doubt. For 
this most important duty regards all those 
who are charged with the care of souls. 
These are bound by the precept of Christ 
to know and to feed the flock intrusted to 
them. To feed, however, is first of all to 
teach. "I will give you," promised God 
by Jeremias, "pastors according to your 
own heart, and they shall feed you with 
knowledge and doctrine" (Jer. iii. 15). 
Wherefore Paul the Apostle said, "Christ 
sent me not to baptize, but to preach the 
Gospel" (1 Cor. i. 17), indicating that the 
first duty of those who are placed in any 
position over the government of the 
Church is to instruct the faithful in sacred 
things. 

We deem it superfluous to dwell at 
greater length in praising such instruction 
or in showing its value in the sight of God. 



258 Appendix 

For there is no doubt that the pity which 
we manifest in relieving the wants of the 
poor is most acceptable to Him, but who 
will question the fact that far more accept- 
able are the care and labor by which we 
procure not transient benefits for the body, 
but eternal ones for souls by teaching and 
warning them. Certainly, nothing can be 
more desirable, nothing more pleasing 
than this to Jesus Christ, the Eedeemer of 
immortal souls, Who said of Himself by 
Isaias, "He hath sent me to preach the 
Gospel to the poor" (Luke iv. 18). 

It is important, Venerable Brothers, to 
emphasize and urge in a particular man- 
ner, that no duty weightier than this is 
appointed unto priests, and that by no ob- 
ligation stricter than by this are they 
bound. In a priest, holiness of life must be 
accompanied by knowledge : ' ' The lips of 
the priest shall keep knowledge' ' (Malach. 
ii. 7) ; and the Church strongly insists on 
this for those who are about to enter the 
sacred ministry. Wherefore does she so 
insist? Because the Christian people ex- 
pect the knowledge of divine law from 
them, and God chooses them to impart this : 
"They shall seek the law at his mouth, be- 
cause he is the angel of the Lord of hosts" 



Appendix 259 

(Malach. ii. 7). On account of this, the 
bishop at ordination thus addresses the can- 
didates for the priesthood: "Let your doc- 
trine be the spiritual medicine of the peo- 
ple of God; let them be provident helpers 
of our order, that, meditating on the law 
day and night, they may believe what they 
read, and teach what they have believed" 
(Pontif. Eom.). If these words apply to 
all priests, what must be thought of those 
who, having official rank and dignity, are 
charged with the government of souls by 
virtue of their priestly office and, as it 
were, by a sacred contract ! These are the 
pastors and doctors whom Christ hath 
given, that the faithful may be "no longer 
children tossed to and fro and carried 
about with every wind of doctrine by the 
wickedness of men ; but that, by doing the 
truth in charity, they may in all things 
grow up in Him Who is the Head, even 
Christ (Eph. iv. 14-15). 

Wherefore, the holy Council of Trent, 
while considering the pastors of souls, de- 
clared that their first and chief duty was 
to teach the faithful of Christ. Hence it 
commands them to explain the truths of 
religion to the people at least on Sundays 
and the more solemn festivals, and also on 



260 Appendix 

every day, or certainly three times a week 
during the holy season of Advent and Lent. 
More than this, it adds that parish priests 
are bound, at least on these Sundays and 
festivals, either personally or by others, to 
instruct the children in the truths of faith 
and to train them in obedience to God and 
their parents. Moreover, when the sacra- 
ments are to be administered, it orders 
that those who are about to receive them 
should be instructed in plain and simple 
language concerning their effects. 

These prescriptions of the holy Synod, 
Our Predecessor, Benedict XIV, thus sum- 
marized and more distinctly defined in his 
constitution Etsi minime: "Two duties in 
particular are imposed by the Council of 
Trent on the guardians of souls: one, that 
they should speak to the people about di- 
vine things on festival days; the other, 
that they should instruct children and all 
persons of lesser intelligence in the rudi- 
ments of faith and of the divine law." 
Eightly, indeed, does this prudent Pontiff 
distinguish the twofold office : that of deliv- 
ering an address, which is usually called 
an explanation of the Gospel, and that of 
teaching Christian doctrine. For some 
may be found who, for the sake of lessen- 



Appendix 261 

ing labor, persuade themselves that the 
homily may take the place of catechism. 
The mistake of such a persuasion is evi- 
dent to all who reflect. The sermon on 
the Gospel is addressed to those who have 
been already imbued with the elements of 
faith. It may be called the bread distrib- 
uted to grown people. Catechetical teach- 
ing, however, is the milk which the apostle 
Peter wished the people guilelessly to de- 
sire. That is to say, the catechist's office 
consists in taking up for explanation a 
truth pertaining to faith or morals, and 
making this clear from every point of view. 
Moreover, since the purpose of teaching 
should be amendment of life, the catechist 
must bring into comparison what God com- 
mands to be done and what men as a 
matter of fact are doing. Then, using 
opportunely examples drawn from the 
Holy Scriptures, Church history, or the 
lives of the saints, he must persuade his 
hearers, and clearly point out to them how 
they are to set in order their conduct. 
Finally, he must exhort all present to ab- 
hor and flee from vice and to pursue a 
life of virtue. 

We understand thoroughly that the 
teaching of Christian doctrine is to not a 



262 Appendix 

few an unattractive duty, one not generally 
held in high estimation, or perhaps not 
likely to attract popular praise. But as 
for Ourself , We consider that such an opin- 
ion is founded rather on thoughtlessness 
than truth. The sacred orators who, from 
a sincere desire of glorifying God, justify 
and defend the Faith, or proclaim the 
glories of the saints, are certainly to be 
praised. But the work of the orator sup- 
poses a preceding one ; namely, that of the 
catechist. If this has been omitted, the 
foundations on which to build the house 
have not been laid. Too often do those 
ornate discourses, which receive the loud 
applause of crowded assemblages, serve 
only to tickle men's ears, without moving 
at all their hearts. Catechetical instruc- 
tion, however, although unpretentious and 
simple, is that word to which God Himself 
beareth witness by Isaias: "As the rain 
and snow come down from heaven and re- 
turn no more thither, but soak the earth 
and water it, and make it to spring and 
give seed to the sower and bread to the 
eater; so shall my word be, which shall 
go forth from my mouth : it shall not return 
to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I 
please, and shall prosper in the things for 



Appendix 263 

which I sent it" (75. lv. 10-11). A like 
opinion should we form of those priests 
who laboriously write books in defense 
of the truth of religion. They are cer- 
tainly worthy of much praise. But how 
many persons will study those volumes 
and draw from them profit commensurate 
with the author's labor and desire! The 
explanation of Christian doctrine, how- 
ever, if it be duly given, is never without 
fruit for the hearers. It will further in- 
flame the zeal of God's ministers to re- 
mind them of the enormous and constantly 
increasing number of those who either 
know nothing at all of religion, or else 
whose knowledge of God and of Christian 
faith is such, that amid the light of Cath- 
olic truth they lead the lives of idolaters. 
How many, alas! there are, not only chil- 
dren, but adults, who are entirely unac- 
quainted, even at an advanced age, with 
the principle mysteries of faith; and who 
on hearing the name of Christ ask : "Who 
is He that I may believe in Him?" (John 
ix. 36). From this cause it results that 
they foment hatred between men; they 
form criminal associations ; they engage in 
dishonest business; they usuriously seize 
the property of others; and they consider 



264 Appendix 

these and similar things no crime. Hence, 
ignoring the law of Christ, which con- 
demns not only unclean deeds, but also 
thoughts and desires, although for one 
reason or another they refrain, perhaps, 
from obscene pleasures, still they reject no 
sinful thought. There being no religion 
in their hearts, their sins are multiplied 
beyond the hairs of their heads. These 
things, in truth, as we should well remem- 
ber, occur not only among the rude and 
the wretched, but also, and perhaps more 
frequently, among persons of higher sta- 
tion and among those whom science in- 
flates, who, in the conceit of their vain 
learning, deem religion a thing to be 
laughed at, and "blaspheme whatever 
things they know not" (Jude i. 10). 

Now if it is vain to expect a harvest 
from ground which has received no seed, 
how shall we look for good morals from 
a generation which has not received 
Christian instruction? Wherefore, since 
the Faith has so languished that in many 
persons it seems to be dying, we justly con- 
clude, that the duty of catechetical instruc- 
tion must have been negligently performed 
or altogether omitted. To contend that 
faith is a gratuitous gift conferred on each 



Appendix 265 

one in Baptism, is but a false excuse. All 
who are baptized in Christ do receive, it is 
true, the habit of faith; but this most di- 
vine seed does not "grow up and shoot out 
great branches" (Mark iv. 32) by its own 
innate power. As man possesses from 
birth the faculty of understanding, which 
needs a mother's prompting to develop 
into efficiency ; so in like manner the Chris- 
tian, when born again of water and the 
Holy Ghost, is imbued with faith, but 
needs Christian formation, that this faith 
may be fostered and may increase and 
bear fruit. Hence the Apostle wrote: 
■ * Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by 
the Word of Christ." Moreover, that he 
might show the necessity of teaching, he 
added, "How shall they hear without a 
preacher?" 

If, therefore, it is clear, from all that 
has been hitherto said how important the 
religious training of the people is, it should 
be our greatest concern that the teaching 
of Christian doctrine, than which, to use 
the words of Our Predecessor, Benedict 
XIV, nothing more useful has been insti- 
tuted, should always be vigorously main- 
tained, and, where it has fallen into dis- 
use, restored. 



266 Appendix 

Therefore, Venerable Brothers, wishing 
to satisfy the weighty obligations of Our 
high and apostolic office, and desiring to 
see uniformity of custom everywhere es- 
tablished in a matter which is so important, 
"We do decree and strictly command, that 
in all dioceses throughout the world the 
following regulations be observed and en- 
forced : 

I. All parish priests, and in general all 
to whom the care of souls is committed, 
must teach the catechism for the space of 
one hour on all Sundays and holydays of 
the year without exception to their young 
boys and girls, explaining to them what 
each is bound to believe and practise in 
order to attain eternal salvation. 

II. They shall also at stated times in 
the year carefully prepare these children 
for the sacraments of Penance and Confir- 
mation, by courses of instruction extending 
through many days. 

III. Likewise, by means of appropriate 
instructions and exhortations, given every 
day during the Lenten season, and if neces- 
sary also after Easter, they shall with the 
greatest care and diligence prepare these 
young people of both sexes for a worthy 
reception of their first holy communion. 



Appendix 267 

IV. Let there be established in every 
parish the association commonly known as 
the Society of Christian Doctrine, by 
mean of which, especially where the num- 
ber of priests is small, pastors may secure 
lay help to assist in teaching catechism; 
and these lay teachers should apply them- 
selves to their task out of zeal for the glory 
of God, as well as from a desire to gain 
the rich indulgences profusely granted by 
the Eoman Pontiffs. 

V. In the larger cities, especially where 
there are public academies, colleges, and 
universities, let classes in religious doc- 
trine be established, for the purpose of 
teaching the truths of our faith and the 
precepts of Christian morality to the 
youths who attend public institutions such 
as these, wherein no mention whatever is 
made of religion. 

VI. And since, in our times especially, 
those more advanced in years stand in no 
less need of religious instruction than the 
young, all pastors and others having 
charge of souls shall, on Sundays and holy- 
days, and at an hour most convenient for 
the majority of the faithful, instruct them 
in the catechism, using plain and simple 
language, adapted to their intelligence. 



268 Appendix 

This teaching of adults, moreover, is to be 
in addition to the usual homily on the Gos- 
pel prescribed for the parish Mass, and the 
hour chosen should not conflict with that 
of the children's instruction. In all these 
instructions, the catechism of the Council 
of Trent should be followed, and they 
ought to be so ordered as to cover in the 
space of four or five years the entire mat- 
ter of the Apostles' Creed, the Sacraments, 
the Ten Commandments, Prayer, and the 
Precepts of the Church. 

All this, Venerable Brethren, We deter- 
mine and decree by Our apostolic author- 
ity; it will now be your duty, each in his 
own diocese, to put these decrees into effect 
immediately and in their every detail. 

Moreover, it will be incumbent on you 
to be vigilant in this matter, using your 
authority unto the end, that what We now 
enjoin be not overlooked and forgotten, or, 
which would be as bad, that it be not put 
into effect negligently and listlessly. Now, 
if you would prevent such a result, you 
must constantly exhort and urge your pas- 
tors not to attempt these catechetical in- 
structions offhand, but rather to prepare 
for them with the utmost care. For if 
they prepare themselves in this way, they 



Appendix 269 

will not discourse in the words of human 
wisdom, but "in simplicity of heart and 
the sincerity of God." Let them imitate 
Christ Himself, Who though uttering 
' * things hidden from the foundation of the 
world" (Matt. xiii. 35), nevertheless de- 
clared all things ' ' in parables to the multi- 
tudes; and without parables He did not 
speak to them" (Matt. xiii. 34). We know 
that the apostles also who were trained by 
Our Lord did the same. St. Gregory the 
Great used to say of them, that "their 
greatest care was to preach to the simple 
people the plainest truths, things not high 
and lofty, but such as they could easily 
comprehend. ' ' And in matters of religion 
it is the same now as then; most men are 
to be moved and won by that which is most 
simple and direct. 

Now it would be a mistake and contrary 
to Our intention, were any one to con- 
clude from what we have said about striv- 
ing after simplicity in religious instruc- 
tion, that a discourse of this sort calls for 
no effort, for no thoughtful preparation. 
On the contrary, it demands much more 
than any other kind of public speaking. 
Far easier is it to find an orator who can 
deliver an elaborate and brilliant sermon, 
than a catechist able to give a simple but 



270 Appendix 

flawless instruction. Therefore, however 
much one may be gifted by nature with 
ease in composition or fluency of expres- 
sion, let him nevertheless be persuaded of 
this, that, unless he has prepared himself 
well by long and careful study and medita- 
tion, the children or the people will not 
derive any real spiritual fruit from his 
instruction on Christian doctrine. To 
count on the people's ignorance and slow- 
ness of comprehension, and to use this 
as an excuse for negligence in the work of 
preparation, is a grievous mistake. As a 
matter of fact, the less cultured one's au- 
dience is, the greater are the care and 
pains required for bringing within the 
reach of their feebler comprehension those 
truths which are most sublime and which 
are far above the grasp of the ordinary 
intelligence, but which nevertheless are as 
necessary for salvation to the ignorant as 
to the learned. 

And now, Venerable Brethren, before 
closing this letter, We shall address to you 
the words of Moses: "If any man be on 
the Lord's side, let him join with me" 
(Ex. xxxii. 26). Consider well, We en- 
treat and beseech you, how great is the 
loss to souls which arises from this one 
cause, ignorance of the things of God. 



Appendix 271 

There may, no doubt, be many useful and 
praiseworthy works established in your 
diocese for the good of the flock entrusted 
to you, yet it should be your desire and 
ambition, before all else, to urge this pres- 
ent matter with all possible zeal and in- 
sistence, and to work for the promotion of 
this one great end, that the knowledge of 
Christian doctrine may thoroughly per- 
vade and imbue the minds of all the faith- 
ful. In the words of the apostle St. Peter : 
"As every man hath received grace, min- 
istering the same one to another, as good 
stewards of the manifold grace of God" 
(1 Peter iv. 10). 

And while the most blessed and immacu- 
late Virgin will continually intercede for 
the success of your earnest and zealous ef- 
forts, they shall also be favored by Our 
apostolic benediction, which We lovingly 
impart to yourselves, to your clergy, and 
to the faithful under your care, both as a 
testimony of Our affection and as a pledge 
of heavenly graces. 

Pius X, Pope. 

St. Peter's, Rome, April 15, 1905, in the 
second year of Our Pontificate. 

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That Football Game. 

The Best Foot Forward. 



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Finn, Rev. F. J., SJ. (Continued,) 

Ethelred Preston. 85 

Claude Lightfoot. 85 

Harry Dee. 85 

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Percy Wynn. 85 

Mostly Boys. 85 

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Fred's Little Daughter. Smith. 45 

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Hop Blossoms. Schmid. 25 

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Hearts of Gold. Edhor. 1 25 

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Miss Erin. Francis. 1 25 

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8 



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